Jennifer Elizabeth Buckmaster-Smith, 39, has been accused of smoking methamphetamine in a Pevely motel bathroom while two children were in main area of the rented room. Buckmaster-Smith had rented the room with a Festus-area man, and along with allegedly smoking meth, the two adults also damaged the room, according to court records.
Buckmaster-Smith has been charged with possession of a controlled substance and first-degree endangering the welfare of a child involving drugs, both class D felonies that are each punishable by up to seven years in prison; and first-degree property damage, a class E felony that carries a penalty of up to four years in prison, court documents show.
Buckmaster-Smith, who was initially charged in June, was arrested on Oct. 12 and then released on Oct. 15 on a $7,500 bond from the Jefferson County Jail in Hillsboro, court records said.
An address for Buckmaster-Smith is not listed in court papers.
Lionel Guy Peterson, 43, who lives north of Festus, also has been charged with first-degree endangering the welfare of a child involving drugs, a class D felony; possession of a controlled substance, a class D felony; and first-degree property damage, a class E felony, court documents said.
As of Oct. 16, he was being held on a $29,000 bond at the Jefferson County Jail in Hillsboro. He was arrested on Aug. 15, jail documents show.
Jefferson County assistant prosecuting attorney Neilson Lea wrote in court documents that Peterson is a persistent offender and that the class D felonies should be treated as class C felonies, and the class E felony should be considered a Class D felony. A class C felony is punishable by three to 10 years in prison, and a class D felony carries a penalty of up to seven years in prison.
According to court records, Peterson was found guilty in July 2013 for first-degree child molestation in Franklin County, and in June 2014, he was found guilty of failing to register as a sex offender in Franklin County.
According to a probable-cause statement filed by the Pevely Police, during an investigation with the Children’s Division on June 16, 2024, at the Super 8 in Pevely, Buckmaster-Smith and Peterson admitted to smoking meth when the children were in the other room. Investigators allegedly found glass smoking devices and other items commonly used during drug use in the motel room.
Residue on one of the smoking devices tested positive for meth, according to a report by the Missouri State Highway Patrol.
A motel employee told officers that Buckmaster-Smith and Peterson had rented the room from May 19 through June 16, 2024. When the two checked out of the room, an employee found numerous damaged items, the report said.
The cost to replace the items was $2,409, according to the report.