A 58-year-old New Bloomfield man has been sentenced to two decades in state prison after a traffic stop on I-70 revealed more than a pound of a controlled substance to be in the vehicle and on the passenger on December 13, 2019.

According to Lafayette County Prosecuting Attorney Kristen Ellis Hilbrenner, Thomas Repper was sentenced to 20 years in the Missouri Department of Corrections on April 5. The sentencing followed his guilty plea to Trafficking in the First Degree on March 1.

Charges were brought after a Lafayette County Sheriff’s deputy became suspicious that other criminal activity was going on because of the behavior of Repper and the driver of the vehicle. The deputy asked the driver for consent to search the vehicle, but the driver refused. At that point, the Higginsville K9 officer and his canine Loki arrived on scene. Loki alerted officers to the presence of illegal controlled substances. This alert gave officers probable cause to search the vehicle and a large amount of methamphetamine was located within the vehicle. Repper was also searched and law enforcement located two baggies of methamphetamine, two pipes, a needle and marijuana on him. The methamphetamine weighed in at approximately 864 grams, with a likely street value of over $30,000.

At sentencing, Hilbrenner argued that the defendant created a huge danger to the community by possessing such a large quantity of methamphetamine, which would be sold to addicts and perpetuate what is already a huge problem throughout the county and state. The prosecutor also pointed out that the defendant is a persistent felony offender with at least six prior convictions which include stealing, assault of a law-enforcement officer, failure to return to house arrest and possession of a controlled substance.