Drug bust at Bois D’Arc hotel leads to felon’s arrest

By: 
Steve Chapman

Man with 21 prior felony convictions allegedly found with almost 7 pounds of meth, firearms
 
A Springfield man was taken into custody after 3,175 grams (about 7 pounds) of s u s p e c t e d meth and two firearms were allegedly found in his possession while he was staying at Hood’s Hotel in Bois D’Arc. Jeffrey Winder, 51, was taken into custody Monday, March 1; he was released from the Greene County Jail after posting a $25,000 open-court bond on Thursday, March 4.
Bed off bed frame leads to suspicion
According to the probable cause statement, Winder was renting a room at the Hood’s Service Center Hotel in Bois D’Arc. The manager of the hotel went to Winder’s room to clean it at 11 a.m. on Monday, March 1. (Per the hotel’s policy, the rooms are cleaned at around 11 a.m. each day, unless a “Do not Disturb” sign is posted on the door.) Finding no “Do not Disturb” sign on the door, the manager knocked on the door, and when no one answered, he entered the room.
The manager said he found the bed off the bedframe, and when he went to fix it, he found a beige bag under the bed’s box spring. He checked the bag and observed a bag of a white crystalline substance that he suspected to be methamphetamines.
A deputy from the Greene County Sheriff’s Office (GCSO) went into the room at the manager’s request, with a K9 unit and observed the crystalline substance and a handgun in the bag; she deployed the K9, which made an indication on the bag. The deputy made the firearm safe and left the room.
A detective from the GCSO executed a search warrant on the room and found a Smith and Wesson 9mm handgun and three Ziploc bags containing a total of 2,948 grams of a white crystalline substance which he suspected to be meth; the detective collected these items and left the room.
Winder taken into custody
Two detectives performed surveillance on the room that evening, Winder arrived at the hotel in a black Chrysler Crossfire with a woman who is not being identified as she had not been charged as of press time. The detectives reported that the two went to the room and looked around the door. Winder remained at the door while the woman got back in the car and drove to the office. She went into the office, exited a short time later, drove back to pick up Winder and they left.
One of the detectives performed a traffic stop and took the couple into custody; a loaded Taurus .380 handgun was found on Winder’s seat in plain view. Winder confirmed that he was a convicted felon and claimed the car belonged to him, but the car’s VIN and license plates were traced back to two other people. A Ziploc bag with 227 grams of a white crystalline substance that the deputy suspected to be methamphetamines was also found in the vehicle.
Winder currently faces one count of second-degree trafficking, one count of possession of a controlled substance, two counts of unlawful possession of a firearm and two counts of unlawful use of a weapon. He was scheduled to reappear in court on Wednesday, March 10, for a bond hearing and a confined docket hearing. According to the probable cause statement in the case, Winder has 21 prior felony convictions.
 

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Lawrence County Record

312 S. Hickory St.
Mt. Vernon, MO, 65712
www.lawrencecountyrecord.com

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