A man wanted on four felony charges following a traffic stop in Arnold was recently arrested. Michael Christopher Oliver, 38, of St. Louis had substances that tested positive as methamphetamine and buprenorphine and a gun in a car he was driving, according to court documents.
The Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office has charged him with two counts of possession of a controlled substance and unlawful possession of a weapon, all class D felonies; and unlawful use of a weapon for possessing a gun and a controlled substance, a Class E felony, court records show.
Oliver has been convicted of at least two prior felony drug offenses and is considered a persistent offender. The two drug possession charges are considered class B felonies, each punishable by five to 15 years in prison, and the unlawful possession of a firearm charge is considered a class C felony, which carries a penalty of three to 10 years in prison. The unlawful use of a weapon charge is considered a class D felony, punishable by up to seven years in prison.
He was arrested on Oct. 29, and as of Oct. 30, he was being held without bond at the Jefferson County Jail in Hillsboro, court documents show.
An Arnold Police officer stopped a 2013 Ford Fusion that Oliver was driving due the car having a California license plate that was registered to a 2007 Honda. The officer arrested Oliver on an active warrant issued in Crawford County, where he was wanted on three counts of felony drug possession, according to the case’s probable-cause statement.
A police dog indicated there may be illegal drugs in the car, and an officer allegedly found a bag in the trunk that contained a rock-like substance, a green-and-yellow capsule, a smoking device and two syringes, the report said.
Oliver allegedly told the officer the contents in the bag belonged to him, and he said there also was a gun in the bag. The officer also found a 9mm Taurus G2C gun and Oliver’s birth certificate in the bag, according to the report.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol tested the substances and identified them both as illegal drugs, the report said.