A St. Louis man has been sentenced to 12 years in prison after he was found with a large amount of methamphetamine inside an Arnold hardware store, court records show.
Eric Joseph Ferguson, 34, on Dec. 4 pleaded guilty to second-degree drug trafficking. Gary Gaertner, a special judge appointed to the case, sentenced Ferguson in Jefferson County Div. 4 Circuit Court, court documents show.
Jefferson County assistant prosecuting attorney Lindsay E. Whalen prosecuted the case.
Ferguson was arrested on Oct. 19, 2021, in the Harbor Freight hardware store, 1400 Jeffco Blvd., when an Arnold Police officer went into the business to find the person who rode a motorcycle to the location. The motorcycle did not have license plates and the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) had been grinded off, the case’s probable-cause statement said.
The officer found Ferguson holding a motorcycle helmet in the store. Ferguson told the officer he rode the motorcycle to the store, but the motorcycle belonged to his girlfriend, the report said.
Ferguson then ran away from the officer after consenting to a search. Ferguson ran into a store display, fell and after a brief struggle was arrested, according to the report.
When the officer searched the backpack Ferguson was carrying, he found a large plastic bag that contained a white crystal-like substance, a scale with residue and multiple empty plastic bags. The substance and residue both tested positive for meth, the report said.
Ferguson was wanted on a warrant for avoiding meeting with a parole officer at the time of the arrest, according to the report.
Ferguson currently is in the Eastern Reception, Diagnostic and Correctional Center in Bonne Terre.