Christopher A. Blech, 29, of Imperial has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for possession of drugs and other felony offenses, court records show.
Blech pleaded guilty to possession of a controlled substance, a felony, and resisting arrest, a misdemeanor, connected to a December 2017 incident in Hillsboro, and he pleaded guilty to possession of a weapon in a jail, a felony, stemming from a November 2018 incident in the Jefferson County Jail. On Feb. 13, Jefferson County Div. 1 Circuit Judge Joseph A. Rathert sentenced him to 10 years in prison for the weapon charge, seven years in prison for the drug charge and 180 days in jail for resisting arrest, according to court papers.
In addition, Rathert executed a seven-year prison term Blech previously was sentenced to tied to an August 2015 incident in Jefferson County. All the terms will be served concurrently, or at the same time. However, Blech may be released early if he completes a one-year treatment program, court documents indicate.
Jefferson County assistant prosecuting attorney Angela D. Tindall handled the cases.
On Dec. 7, 2017, a Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office was called to a Hillsboro business where Blech was unconscious from a suspected heroin overdose. When the deputy arrived, Blech ran from the business while ingesting narcotics and in the parking lot, he threw a container filled with a gray powder that was suspected to be heroin, the probable-cause statement in the case said.
The deputy ordered Blech to stop running and eventually used a stun gun to subdue him. The deputy searched Blech and found a leather bag that contained a used syringe, a black wooden smoking device with burnt marijuana, as well as a clear plastic bag that contained a white-powdery substance, a metal spoon with cotton and burnt residue and other items, the report said.
Blech was arrested and transported to an area hospital because he had ingested an unknown amount of narcotics, according to the report.
On Nov. 27, 2018, Blech was being held in the Jefferson County Jail and was provided a disposable razor to shave. He dismantled the razor and turned it into a weapon and later swallowed it to keep jail staff from retrieving it. He was taken to the hospital and stayed there until the weapon passed through his digestive system, the report said.
On Aug. 18, 2015, Blech was arrested in unincorporated Arnold after a Jefferson County deputy spotted him walking near the Rex Aire mobile home community carrying a backpack and several other bags. The deputy searched him and found a used syringe, a metal spoon with cotton and residue on it, a digital scale and a red plastic bag that had a white-powdery residue, which tested positive for methamphetamine, the probable-cause statement said.
In that case, Blech pleaded guilty to felony possession of a controlled substance, and in June 2017, he was sentenced to seven years in prison. However, that sentence was suspended, and he was placed on five years’ probation, court documents said.
Since he violated the probation, Rathert executed that previous seven-year term, to be served concurrently with the latest sentences.
Blech currently is in the Eastern Reception, Diagnostic and Correctional Center in Bonne Terre.