Wappapello man charged with drug trafficking

PISO POINT, Mo. -- A Wappapello, Missouri, man was charged Thursday with attempted drug trafficking after authorities seized nearly 1 1/2 pounds of what was described as pure methamphetamine and nearly $24,000 in cash from his Piso Point home.

Thurman Ray Wallace Jr. was charged with felony attempted first-degree trafficking by Wayne County Prosecuting Attorney Robert Ramshur, who charged the 53-year-old as a prior and persistent offender.

Wallace, who was ordered held without bond, previously had been convicted of the felonies of manufacturing methamphetamine in 1999 and first-degree assault in Butler County in 1988.

Acting on a tip, officers from the Wayne County Sheriff's Department, SEMO Drug Task Force and Missouri State Highway Patrol executed a search warrant at about 7 p.m. Wednesday on Wallace's home, said Sheriff Dean Finch.

Wallace allegedly was found with "considerably over a pound" of suspected "ice" and $23,700 in cash, said Finch, who described "ice" as a pure form of methamphetamine.

Pertinent address:

Piso Point, Mo.