10 arrested in Moniteau County drug bust

The Moniteau County Sheriff's Office, working in conjunction with the Mid-Missouri Drug Task Force and the Tipton Police Department, executed three search warrants Thursday evening. Two were executed in Latham and the third in Tipton.

Ten people were taken into custody and transported to the Moniteau County Jail. The investigation is ongoing, and more arrests are possible, according to authorities.

Those arrested and the charges against them included: Allen Wilkerson, 24, possession of a controlled substance; Kendall D. Stark, 34, delivery of a controlled substance and possession of a controlled substance; Amy M. Stark, 32, delivery of a controlled substance and possession of a controlled substance; Roxanne Mowrey, 40, possession of a controlled substance and outstanding warrant from Morgan County for kidnapping; Ashley S. Hagebush, 20, possession of a controlled substance; John C. Wallace, 55, possession of a controlled substance; Dustin J. Tennis, 34, unlawful possession of a firearm and hindering prosecution of a felony; Billy R. Rains, 49, possession of a controlled substance; James D. Pace, 35, possession of a controlled substance and unlawful possession of a firearm; and Megan M. Connelly, 26, possession of a controlled substance

"During my campaign for sheriff, I made promises to the citizens of Moniteau County to address the ever-growing drug problems within the county," Sheriff Tony Wheatley said. "This is the first step in fulfilling those promises. I will use all the powers of my office to address this problem, and we have taken the first step with these arrests.

"I see many more arrests coming in the near future, and we are going to send a clear message to all of the drug dealers inside our county that the sheriff's office nor its citizens will tolerate it any longer. I want to make this very clear, if you sell drugs in Moniteau County, we will come for you and use any legal means at our disposal to make sure that you answer for your crimes."