Gets 10 years for drug, sodomy charges

A Park Hills man has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for drug and sodomy charges.

Circuit Court Judge Kenneth W. Pratte sentenced Gary Francis Jr., 33, of Park Hills, to 10 years in prison for possession of a chemical with intent to make meth, second-degree statutory sodomy and attempt to manufacture. He was charged as a prior offender.

Charges were filed in St. Francois County and prosecuted by Special Prosecutor Carl Kinsky.

Francis entered Alford pleas to the charges of attempted manufacture and statutory sodomy, which meant that he did not admit to any element of those charges but acknowledged there was sufficient evidence for trial.

Francis and two women were arrested Nov. 3, 2011, by the Mineral Area Drug Task Force for possessing meth lab precursors. As a result of that arrest he was charged with three counts of possession of a controlled substance and one count of possession of meth drug paraphernalia. 

During the drug investigation one of the women told officers that Francis was abusing a child.

On Nov. 10 the child was interviewed by the Children’s Advocacy Center about the drug and abuse allegations. She said Francis had her try marijuana and she did not like it. She said he also bought her a pack of cigarettes.

The girl said Francis would make her watch him touch himself and he made her touch his private parts four or five times.

The girl said she told her mother about it three to four weeks before Francis was arrested for the drug charges but they were afraid of him.

When Francis was interviewed he denied touching the child or doing drugs around any children. He said the girl must be making it up because she was mad at him or because she wanted him to get help for his drug addiction.

He said he does speed and marijuana and he made a promise to his mother before she died that he would always be high until he dies.

Eventually Francis admitted to giving the girl marijuana. At first he said he was working on his car and just handed the marijuana to her without thinking.

Then he agreed that it happened the way the girl said and he gave her the marijuana.

He has a prior felony conviction from 2001 for resisting arrest and driving while revoked.

In other cases, Amber Fox Miller, 32, of Farmington, was sentenced to 14 years in prison for second-degree burglary and stealing after being kicked out of a drug court program.

Wesley Cole Bryan, 28, of Bonne Terre, was sentenced to five years in prison for DWI.

Shannon Pullen, 33, of Desloge, was sentenced to three years in prison for stealing.

Brandi Taylor, 23, of Park Hills, was sentenced to seven years in prison for possession of heroin and violating the probation she received for sale of marijuana.

Bryar Rutherford, 20, of Farmington, was sentenced to seven years in prison for violating the probation he received for stealing and tampering with a motor vehicle.

Placed on five years of supervised probation were Michael Webers Sr., 55, of Doe Run, for sale of meth; Mark Quimby, 41, of Fenton, for possession of meth and possession of a chemical with intent to make meth; Harry Porter Jr., 35, of Annapolis, for possession of meth; Matthew Sutton, 29, of Farmington, for DWI; Alvin Ray Radford, 32, of Farmington, for receiving stolen property; Nathaniel Schirmer, 36, of Salem, for possession of a chemical with intent to make meth; John Rastorfer, 33, of Cadet, for failure to pay child support; and Candace McCoy, 26, of Pilot Knob, for stealing.