Murder suspect pleads guilty to federal drug charges

One of the suspects in the slaying of a Cape Girardeau man pleaded guilty Monday to federal drug charges.

Brent Bouren, 43, of St. Louis pleaded guilty in federal court to one count each of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and conspiracy to distribute cocaine.

Sentencing is set for June 10.

Bouren faces state charges of second-degree murder, armed criminal action, witness tampering, second-degree assault and felonious restraint in connection with the death of Samuel "Tick" Francis, whose body was found last summer in a septic tank near Bonne Terre, Mo.

Francis had been missing since December 2012.

One of the federal charges accuses Bouren of conspiring with Melvin Scherrer and seven other people to distribute methamphetamine.

Scherrer, 49, of Bonne Terre faces state charges of first-degree murder, armed criminal action, felonious restraint, abandonment of a corpse and evidence tampering in connection with Francis' death.

Scherrer also faces multiple federal charges in connection with the drug trafficking investigation that led to Bouren's guilty plea.

Authorities found Francis' remains in a septic tank near Bonne Terre on July 25, a day after federal agents searched Scherrer's property as part of the drug trafficking investigation.

A probable-cause affidavit filed last year in St. Francois County Circuit Court accuses Scherrer of striking Francis with a baseball bat and smothering him.

According to a probable-cause affidavit filed in the murder case against Bouren, witnesses reported Bouren watched Scherrer attack Francis with a baseball bat, participated in the assault and threatened witnesses with similar treatment to keep them quiet, pointing a gun at some individuals at the scene.

A third suspect, 44-year-old Otto Plopper of French Village, Mo., is accused of helping dispose of Francis' body.

Plopper has been charged with felony abandonment of a corpse. His next court date is Thursday.

No date has been set for Scherrer to answer the state charges.

In January, St. Francois County Prosecuting Attorney Jerrod Mahurin said he was ready to proceed with the state's case against Scherrer and had filed several writs of habeas corpus to try to get Scherrer into court, but federal authorities had not yet approved them.

epriddy@semissourian.com

388-3642

Pertinent address:

Bonne Terre, Mo.