John Robert Williams, 40, of House Springs has been sentenced to 12 years in prison after pleading guilty to possession of a controlled substance charge as a persistent offender. Williams had pleaded guilty to drug charges at least three times prior to his latest prison sentence, court records show.
Jefferson County Division I Circuit Judge Joseph Alfred Rathert sentenced Williams to prison on Oct. 4. Rathert also revoked Williams’ probation during the sentencing, court documents said.
Williams was on five years’ probation after pleading guilty to a drug possession charge in October 2021. He was sentenced to eight years in prison for the drug charge at the time, but the sentence was suspended and he was placed on probation, according to court records.
Williams will serve his 12-year prison sentence and eight-year prison sentence concurrently, or at the same time, court documents show.
Williams had also pleaded guilty to a felony drug possession charge in October 2013 following a July 2012 arrest in Ste. Genevieve, and he pleaded guilty to manufacturing a controlled substance in December 2013 following a February 2013 arrest in Jefferson County, according to court records.
Williams’ latest arrest occurred on May 15, 2022, when a Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office deputy stopped a vehicle for having an expired license plate on Hencher Road near Flucom Road southeast of De Soto. Williams was sitting in the passenger seat, and the deputy found a large amount of methamphetamine on the floorboard between the passenger seat and the center console, the case’s probable-cause statement said.
Williams currently is in the Eastern Reception, Diagnostic and Correctional Center in Bonne Terre.
Jefferson County assistant prosecuting attorney Lindsay E. Whalen handled the case.