Lawrence Allen Bourne, 53, of Hillsboro has been sentenced to 15 years in prison after pleading guilty to at least his sixth drug-related charge. He also had his probation revoked for a previous drug offense revoked, court documents show.
Jefferson County Div. 5 Circuit Judge Victor J. Melenbrink on Jan. 21 sentenced Bourne for a possession of a controlled substance charge he received following a November 2023 arrest, and Melenbrink revoked Bourne’s probation and ordered him to serve the 10-year prison sentence he received in 2022. The sentences will be served concurrently, or at the same time, according to court documents.
Bourne had pleaded guilty to the latest drug charge on Nov. 19, court records said.
Jefferson County assistant prosecuting attorney Lindsay E. Whalen prosecuted the case.
According to the case’s probable-cause statement, Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office detectives on Nov. 3, 2023, executed a search warrant at Bourne’s home in the 100 block of El Vado Drive. The detectives found methamphetamine, syringes filled with liquid meth, a bong and a clear glass pipe in the home.
Bourne was on five years’ probation when his home was searched after pleading guilty to possession of a controlled substance following an arrest in Arnold in September 2020, court records show.
Arnold Police stopped a Ford F-150 in the Walmart parking lot, 2201 Michigan Ave., because the pickup’s license plates were registered to a Ford F-250, the case’s probable-cause statement said.
A police dog detected narcotics in the pickup, and when the officers searched the F-150, they found three bags containing a crystal-like substance that later tested positive as meth, the report said.
Bourne pleaded guilty to the drug possession charge in July 2022, and he was sentenced to 10 years in prison. However, that sentence was suspended, and he was placed on five years’ probation, court documents said.
Court records show Bourne pleaded guilty to drug charges at least four other times before July 2022.
In March 2000, he pleaded guilty to possession of a controlled substance in St. Louis County, and in April 2009, he pleaded guilty to distribution of a controlled substance in Jefferson County. In September 2012, he pleaded guilty to possession of chemicals with intent to manufacture a controlled substance in Jefferson County, and in July 2018, he pleaded guilty to a possession of a controlled substance charge in Jefferson County, according to court documents.