St. Charles deputy gets 5 years in jail

MONTGOMERY CITY, Mo. -- A St. Charles County sheriff's deputy has been sentenced to five years in prison after being found guilty of several crimes while on a methamphetamine raid.

A jury found 38-year-old Christopher Hunt guilty last month of felony burglary and misdemeanor assault and property damage after a three-day trial.

Hunt was among St. Charles County officers responding to a meth lab in neighboring Montgomery County in 2009.

Prosecutor Nicole Volkert said Hunt wasn't working but showed up because he had a grudge against the suspect and wanted to beat him. Defense attorney Joseph McCulloch argued that the suspect resisted arrest.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports (http://bit.ly/T851j7 ) that Hunt was sentenced Friday and is free on bond while he appeals.