Shaun Patrick Kearns, 43, of Dittmer has been sentenced to 10 years in prison as a persistent drug offender. A Jefferson County judge also revoked Kearns’ probation for previous felony drug and stealing sentences, court records show.
Jefferson County Div. 1 Circuit Judge Joseph Rathert on Feb. 6 sentenced Kearns to 10 years in prison for possession of a controlled substance. Rathert on Feb. 4 had already sentenced Kearns to 10 years in prison for a separate possession charge and revoked Kearns’ probation and executed three seven-year sentences for stealing catalytic converters and a seven-year sentence for a possession charge, according to court documents.
Kearns will serve all the sentences concurrently, or at the same time, for a total of 10 years.
Jefferson County assistant prosecuting attorney Lindsay Whalen prosecuted the cases.
Kearns was sentenced on Feb. 6 on a drug charge he received following an April 2023 arrest.
According to the case’s probable-cause statement, a Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office deputy on April 18, 2023, stopped Kearns near the intersection of High Ridge Boulevard and Hwy. 30 in High Ridge for a traffic violation. The deputy arrested Kearns, who was wanted on a felony warrant.
Kearns was taken to the Jefferson County Jail in Hillsboro, where a corrections officer found a bag containing a white powdery substance in Kearns’ sock. Kearns said he believed the bag contained methamphetamine and had put the bag in his sock after finding it in the parking lot of an unidentified smoke shop, the report said.
On Feb. 4, Rathert sentenced Kearns to 10 years for a possession of a controlled substance charge he received following a December 2022 arrest, court records said.
The case’s probable-cause statement said Kearns was arrested Dec. 7, 2022, at the Cedar Hill Game Room, 8106 S. Industrial Drive, in Cedar Hill on numerous active warrants. When a Sheriff’s Office deputy searched Kearns, a white crystal-like substance was found in Kearns’ pocket.
Also on Feb. 4, Rathert revoked Kearns’ probation for sentences he received in February 2023 for stealing and possession of a controlled substance, according to court documents.
Kearns was charged with three counts of felony stealing after he was seen in surveillance video on Nov. 27, 2021, stealing catalytic converters at the Northwest Towing lot, 4637 Gravois Road, in House Springs. The approximate value of the converters was $900, the case’s probable-cause statement said.
Kearns pleaded guilty to the three charges on Feb. 10, 2023. He was sentenced to seven years in prison for each charge, but the sentences were suspended and he was placed on five years’ probation, court records said.
Also on Feb. 10, 2023, Kearns was sentenced to seven years in prison after pleading guilty to a drug charge following an October 2021 arrest. However, like the stealing charge, the sentence was suspended, and Kearns was placed on five years’ probation, according to court documents.
According to the case’s probable-cause statement, Kearns was arrested on felony warrants on Oct. 23, 2021, at the BP gas station, 4685 Gravois Road, in House Springs when a deputy saw him at the business. When a vehicle Kearns drove to the gas station was searched, a bag containing a crystal-like substance was found hidden in a plastic panel near the steering wheel.