Jefferson County Div. 1 Circuit Judge Joseph Alfred Rathert has revoked a local man’s probation and sentenced the man to five years in prison for a drug charge and charges of endangering the welfare of children, according to court documents.
Jeremy Douglas Johnson, 38, who has lived in Cedar Hill and Pevely, was sentenced on Feb. 26 in Jefferson County. He had pleaded guilty in April 2024 to possession of a controlled substance and three counts of endangering the welfare of child, and he was released on probation in September 2024 after completing a treatment program, court records show.
Jefferson County assistant prosecuting attorney Justin T. Owens prosecuted the case.
Johnson was charged on Jan. 6 in St. Charles County with felony delivery of a controlled substance following an arrest in November, according to court documents.
According to the probable-cause statement filed in Jefferson County, a member of the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office in May 2022 searched Johnson’s home in the 9100 block of Lynnwood Drive in Pevely. Three children, all under the age of 18, also lived at the home.
Deputies found a bag containing a crystal-like substance, three digital scales and two straws and four smoking devices with residue in Johnson’s bedroom. Johnson told investigators he was using methamphetamine multiple times at, but he did not use the drug when children were at the house, the report said.
In a probable-cause statement filed in St. Charles County, a detective with the St. Charles County Drug Task Force was using a fake profile on Facebook when Johnson contacted the detective about selling drugs.
A different undercover detective contacted Johnson, and the two arranged a meeting at a hotel in St. Charles County. Johnson told the detective that he was going to stop at a store next to the hotel first to purchase some items, and that he was bringing meth for the undercover detective to buy, the report said.
Johnson was arrested outside the store, and when asked if he had anything illegal, he said yes. Investigators allegedly found two bags containing substances that tested positive as methamphetamine, according to the report.
Johnson allegedly told investigators he purchased the bags for $40 each in Jefferson County, the report said.