James J. Burnham, 48, of High Ridge was allegedly 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 that he had received following an arrest in October 2023, according to court documents.
The Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office on Aug. 25 charged Burnham with second-degree drug trafficking, a class B felony; possession of a controlled substance, a class D felony; and possession of drug paraphernalia, a class A misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in jail and a fine of up to $2,000, court records show.
Because Burnham is a persistent offender, the Prosecuting Attorney’s Office is prosecuting the trafficking charge as a class A felony, punishable by 10 to 30 years or life in prison, and the possession charge as a class B felony, which carries a penalty of five to 15 years in prison. He had been found guilty of three counts of possession of a controlled substance in March 2017, court documents said.
Burnham was arrested on Aug. 30, and as of Sept. 7, he was being held on a $50,000 bond at the Jefferson County Jail in Hillsboro, court papers show.
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 of the R Veterinary at Romaine Creek clinic, 821 Romaine Creek Road, in the Jefferson County portion of Fenton. An employee had 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.