Salon owner arrested for meth

An area business owner is facing a felony charge after authorities say she was busted with a large amount of methamphetamine at her salon.

Brittany Whitener, 27, of Bonne Terre, is being charged with a class A felony of trafficking in the first degree.

According to a probable cause statement, the Mineral Area Drug Task Force was in St. Francois County conducting a narcotics investigation and during the investigation agents with the task force searched a hair salon in Bonne Terre after receiving a tip.

The report said they searched a vehicle and the Lock & Key Salon located at 15 W. School St. in Bonne Terre, both belonging to Whitener. During the search several items were located, including a large amount of methamphetamine, ecstasy pills and paraphernalia.

A sergeant with the task force reported they seized 11 plastic bags of methamphetamine, weighing approximately one ounce each. All 11 of them field tested positive for methamphetamine. They also found a clear plastic bag containing a small amount of methamphetamine and a clear plastic jar with a lid containing a small amount of methamphetamine.

The task force also found digital scales, glass smoking devices, seven blue pills shaped like hand grenades and one shaped like an Instagram emblem.

According to a spokesperson for the Mineral Area Drug Task Force, this was not a long-term investigation. They simply had just received some information and went to check it out. The business owner, Whitener, gave them consent to search the business and her vehicle and they ended up finding nearly a pound of methamphetamine.

Whitener is being held on a $150,000 cash-only bond.

Whitener

Whitener (file photo)

Renee Bronaugh is a reporter for the Daily Journal and can be reached at 573-518-3617 or rbronaugh@dailyjournalonline.com