Man gets 10 years for trying to sell drugs in Mo. jail lobby

PALMYRA, Mo. (AP) -- A "brazen" attempt to sell drugs in a Missouri jail lobby results in a 10-year prison sentence.

Jerry Lynn Brooks Jr., 25, of Lake Village, Ark., pleaded guilty to a felony drug charge and was sentenced Wednesday.

Brooks was at the Marion County jail in northeast Missouri on June 13 to post bond for a relative.

"He was short of money, so that is why he was trying to sell prescription pills right in the lobby," Capt. James Shinn of the Marion County Sheriff's Department said.

Two people visiting the jail reported Brooks to officers, who found drugs on Shinn and in his car.

"We couldn't believe it," investigator Regina Webb said. "We you think you have seen everything, you have not.

"It was very brazen."

---

Information from: Hannibal Courier-Post, http://www.hannibal.net