Christopher Lee Whitt, 29, of High Ridge was arrested after he allegedly was found hiding under a bed in a room at the Motel 6, 1017 Hwy. K, in Bonne Terre. He surrendered to authorities after a St. Francois County Sheriff’s Department police dog arrived at the motel, Bonne Terre Police reported.
Bonne Terre Police officers went to the motel on Nov. 13 to arrest Whitt, who was wanted on a felony warrant for violating terms of his probation after he pleaded guilty to possession of a controlled substance in June 2023 in Jefferson County. A Jefferson County judge had suspended the imposition of a five-year sentence following the guilty plea and placed Whitt on probation, but Whitt’s probation was suspended July 14, according to court documents.
Bonne Terre Police reported Whitt would not come out from under the motel room’s bed, and a St. Francois County Sheriff’s Department deputy arrived with Onyx, a police dog. Whitt surrendered peacefully after the dog arrived.
Officers allegedly found a large amount of a substance that is believed to be fentanyl in the room after the arrest, the report said.
Depending on results of the drug analysis, Bonne Terre Police will seek charges against Whitt for drug trafficking and possession of a controlled substance, according to the report.
Whitt had been arrested in Jefferson County in June 2023 following a car crash. A Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office deputy found yellow bar-shaped pills and a white crystal-like substance in the car, according to the case’s probable-cause statement.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported the crystal-like substance was cocaine, but the pills did not test positive as a controlled substance, court records show.