Teanna Francis Winkler, 38, of Imperial has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for felony drug charges. Winkler, a persistent offender, also has been ordered to enter a treatment program, according to court documents.
Winkler pleaded guilty to three charges of possession of a controlled substance, and on Jan. 26, Jefferson County Div. 4 Circuit Judge Brenda Stacey sentenced her to 10 years in prison for each of the charges. However, she will serve the three terms concurrently, or at the same time, and if she successfully completes a 120-day treatment program, she may be released early on probation, court records show.
In December 2018, while Winkler was on probation, she was arrested on outstanding warrants, and an Arnold Police officer found her with two plastic bags containing methamphetamine, a glass smoking pipe with residue and a cut straw with residue, the probable-cause statement in the case said.
On March 11, 2020, a Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office deputy stopped a vehicle Winkler was driving on Hwy. 30 near Old Sugar Creek Road in High Ridge. A man riding in the vehicle told the deputy he was suicidal and had swallowed “beans.” The man also said Winkler had meth, the report said.
The deputy searched the vehicle and found a scale, numerous plastic bags and a blue pill under the driver’s seat. In addition, Winkler had a bag containing meth and a smoking pipe concealed in her bra, according to the report.
Nine days later, Winkler was found in a home in the 7000 block of Albermarle Court in Barnhart with a bag containing meth and a smoking pipe. She told the arresting officer she had used meth while in the home, the report said.
Jefferson County assistant prosecuting attorney Lindsay E. Whalen handled the cases.
Winkler previously pleaded guilty to drug possession charges in February 2018 and July 2018, and in each of those cases, her sentences were suspended and she was placed on five years’ probation, court papers indicate.