Laclede County sheriff says offenders aren’t serving full prison sentences

LEBANON, Mo. (KY3) - The Laclede County sheriff says he’s tired of watching offenders get out of jail without serving their sentences.

Sheriff David Millsap says the crimes some people consider small are ruining communities in Missouri.

Millsap took to Facebook to share details of the weekend arrest of Scott Bonner.

“Over the weekend, we get him with three and a half pounds of methamphetamine,” he tells KY3 News.

This isn’t Bonner’s first time in trouble with the law for drug-related crimes. He was convicted and pled guilty to traffic narcotics in 2018 and was given a 16-year prison sentence.

He only served three and a half years.

“This is a perfect example of a broken system within the (Missouri) Department of Corrections,” Millsap wrote in his Facebook post.

“We have elected local judges, elected by the people of this community, to pass on a sentence. Then we have people who don’t live in this community making a decision of let’s disregard what the judge said,” he said during his interview with KY3.

Sheriff Millsap says he finds a connection between substance abuse leading to domestic violence, property crime rise, and violence.

“We’re talking about somebody that’s bringing poison into our community. Methamphetamine is a killer drug,” he says.

He says the change needs to start in Jefferson City. He and other Sheriffs in Missouri are working to do it now. He wants people to serve their full time. Something he says he is doing with the Missouri Sheriffs Association.

“It’s made this a priority to talk to legislatures about during this legislative session, and hopefully, there will be some traction,” said Sheriff Millsap.

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