James J. Burnham, 48, of High Ridge has been sentenced to 10 years in prison after he was found with a significant amount of fentanyl and methamphetamine following a traffic stop in Byrnes Mill. At the time of his arrest, he was out on bond while awaiting trial for a drug possession charge stemming from an arrest in October 2023, according to court documents.
Jefferson County Div. 3 Circuit Judge Travis Partney on March 10 sentenced Burnham to 10 years in prison for second-degree drug trafficking and 30 days in jail for possession of a controlled substance. The sentences will be served concurrently, or at the same time, court records said.
Burnham also was ordered to complete a 120-day program, court documents show.
Jefferson County assistant prosecuting attorney Neilson Lea prosecuted the case.
A Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office deputy at about 5:30 p.m. Oct. 4, 2024, stopped a vehicle Burnham was traveling near Byrnes Mill Road and North Lakeshore Drive in Byrnes Mill. The deputy saw a black scale with residue in the vehicle, the case’s probable-cause statement said.
The deputy also allegedly found a magnetic lock box and backpack. The lock box had 22 capsules, bags containing a white powdery substance and drug paraphernalia, and the backpack had a glass smoking device, 15 capsules and a substance suspected to be meth in foil, the report said.
The substances were tested by the Missouri State Highway Patrol and were identified as fentanyl and meth, according to the report.
In February 2023, Sheriff’s Office deputies arrested Burnham outside the R Veterinary at Romaine Creek, 821 Romaine Creek Road, in the Jefferson County portion of Fenton. An employee called police after Burnham came into the clinic and asked to use the bathroom but appeared to be uncomfortable being recorded by surveillance cameras, the case’s probable-cause statement said.
Burnham left in a Chevrolet Tahoe, which deputies stopped. When Burnham opened his wallet to provide his driver’s license, a deputy saw an orange-and-green capsule in the wallet, the report said.
The deputy also allegedly found two more capsules in the SUV and another in Burnham’s pocket. The substances in the capsules tested positive as fentanyl, according to the report.
The Prosecuting Attorney’s Office in October 2024 charged Burnham with possession of a controlled substance, according to court documents.
Burnham was considered a persistent offender because he had been found guilty of three counts of possession of a controlled substance in March 2017, court documents said.