Richard Lee Soest, 59, of Jefferson County, Fenton, has been sentenced to six years in jail after pleading guilty to 11 felony and one misdemeanor offenses. He was arrested twice in 2022 and once in 2023, according to court records.
On September 2, Jefferson County Div. 1 Circuit Judge Joseph Rathert sentenced Soest to two six-year prison terms for two felony charges of endangering the welfare of a child; a six-year prison term for a felony delivery of a controlled substance charge; four four-year prison terms for separate felony possession of a controlled substance charges; four four-year prison terms for separate felony unlawful use of a weapon charges; and ordered Soest to pay a $50 fine for a misdemeanor.
The sentences will be served consecutively, or simultaneously, for a total of six years, according to court documents.
Lindsay E. Whalen, Jefferson County’s associate prosecuting attorney, prosecuted the case.
Deputies from the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office arrested Soest in February 2022 after receiving information that he was delivering methamphetamine from his residence in the 200 block of Cool Valley Drive off Hwy. 141 between Arnold and Fenton, according to the probable cause statement.
Soest was seen loading something into a toolbox in the bed of a pickup truck and drove away from his residence. Deputies stopped Soest near his home, and he admitted to investigators that he had meth in his toolbox, the report stated.
Deputies discovered meth, pills, and a digital scale with residue in the toolbox, as well as a rifle, loaded revolver, additional pills, and a residue-filled glass pipe in the pickup. Deputies also searched Soest’s residence and discovered additional meth, pills, and another pistol, according to the report.
Soest was arrested again in June 2022, when deputies came to his residence to carry out a search warrant for alleged drug activities. According to the probable-cause statement, deputies observed two females, both under the age of 17, leaving the house before executing the search warrant and discovered that the two girls lived there.
After the females left, Soest drove away in a 2018 GMC Sierra. Deputies stopped him and discovered two glass smoking devices with residue in the home, according to the report.
According to the report, Soest informed the deputies that his habit was “not as bad” as it had been when he was detained in February and that he used the pipes to take tiny “hits” throughout the day.
Deputies then escorted Soest back to his residence, where they discovered meth, other glass smoking devices, and a digital scale, the complaint stated.
In February 2023, a deputy stopped Soest on Lower Byrnes Mill Road near Highway 30 in House Springs for operating an illegally licensed car. Soest was wanted on current warrants at the time of the stop, and the deputy discovered a revolver, methamphetamine, and glass smoking devices in the vehicle, according to the probable cause statement.
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