Police: Man tried to buy 5 pounds of meth in Jackson hotel lot

A man tried to buy about 5 pounds of methamphetamine Sunday in a Jackson hotel parking lot, police said.

The Cape Girardeau County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office charged Justin M. Locke, 32, of Burfordville with second-degree drug trafficking, a class A felony.

According to a probable-cause statement filed in the case by SEMO Drug Task Force officer Mike Alford, Locke drove to the parking lot of the Comfort Suites hotel in the 2900 block of Orchard Road in Jackson at 2:21 a.m. Sunday, where members of the Drug Enforcement Administration and SEMO Drug Task Force were watching him.

Locke left his vehicle and got into an empty Toyota RAV4 parked in the lot, in which police later found about 5 pounds of meth, according to the statement.

Officers arrested Locke, who then admitted the drugs in the vehicle were meant for him, and he owed about $35,000 for them, Alford wrote.

Locke told police he intended to distribute the meth to at least one person, and he had received and distributed meth in the past as well, Alford wrote.

A field test of the drugs proved positive for meth, according to the statement.

Locke is on federal release for a drug violation, according to the statement. Online court records show Locke’s conviction history includes assault and drug-related charges.

Mark McLendon, director of the SEMO Drug Task Force, declined to provide additional details about the case.

Locke’s bond was set at $100,000 cash, with the condition he not leave Cape Girardeau County.

tgraef@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3627

Pertinent address:

2900 block of Orchard Road, Jackson, Mo.