2 grams of meth mix have Webb City woman facing trafficking charge

Jeff Lehr, The Joplin Globe, Mo.
Updated ·2 min read

Dec. 16—A Webb City woman on Thursday was ordered to stand trial on a drug trafficking charge of possession of 2 grams of powder that proved to be a mix of methamphetamine and fentanyl.

Associate Judge Joseph Hensley decided at the conclusion of a preliminary hearing in Jasper County Circuit Court that there was probable cause for Rebekkah C. Gage, 39, to stand trial on a count of second-degree trafficking in drugs.

A police officer testified at the hearing that he was responding Aug. 19 to a report of a stolen moped possibly having been seen outside Wendy's restaurant in Webb City. He said he spotted Gage standing by the moped with a male companion.

She ran, he said, and he chased her, first in his patrol car and then on foot. Along the way, she discarded a purse in which a folded piece of paper was found containing about 2 grams of powder, he told the court. The powder tested positive for both methamphetamine and fentanyl.

She was arrested and charged by the Jasper County prosecutor's office with a Class B felony count of second-degree trafficking, which carries from five to 15 years.

Two grams of most controlled substances, including meth, are generally regarded as a personal use amount and constitutes the Class C felony of possession, which carries a punishment range of three to 10 years.

It normally takes 30 grams of meth, or 10 milligrams or more of fentanyl, to be charged with the higher level of offense in Missouri. But the state's controlled substances statute also allows the charging of someone with second-degree trafficking if they are in possession of "any compound, mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of fentanyl, or carfentanil, or their optical isomers or analogues."

A date for Gage's initial appearance in a trial division of the court had yet to be set by the close of building hours Thursday, according to electronic court records.