2 Jasper County drug trafficking cases ordered for trials

May 12—Two defendants waived preliminary hearings Tuesday on drug trafficking charges related to search warrants served in March at separate locations in Webb City.

Chet E. Mercer, 32, of Webb City, waived a hearing in Jasper County Circuit Court on counts of second-degree trafficking in drugs and unlawful use of a weapon and was ordered to stand trial. Associate Judge John Nicholas set the defendant's initial appearance in a trial division of the court for July 12.

The charges stem from a search warrant served March 11 at Mercer's residence on West Daugherty Street.

According to a probable-cause affidavit, the Ozark Drug Enforcement Team seized 670 grams of methamphetamine, $4,895, a money-counting machine, digital scales and two handguns in the search of the defendant's residence.

Dustin A. Teeter, 42, of Joplin, waived his preliminary hearing on counts of second-degree trafficking in drugs and unlawful possession of a firearm. Nicholas set his initial appearance in atrial division for June 7.

Teeter's charges pertain to the drug enforcement team's serving of a search warrant March 15 on an office area of Madison Street Storage in Webb City that was being rented by the defendant, according to a probable-cause affidavit.

Ozark Drug Enforcement Team investigators allegedly seized a bag containing 7.5 grams of meth and a metal container with 10.1 grams of the drug, both of which turned up in a search of Teeter's pockets. The affidavit states that a backpack that had a handgun and a large amount of ammunition in it also was seized.

A search of Teeter's residence on South Travis Acres Road the same day purportedly turned up bags containing more than 110 grams of meth.

Teeter also has drug trafficking and stolen property charges pending against him in Newton County related to an arrest last August.