The new U.S. Attorney in St. Louis, Catherine Hanaway, will concentrate efforts on the meth problem in the suburbs, says the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Hanaway visited suburban St. Charles County las week to discuss meth with local officials. “I want to make sure that our focus reflects the population change,” she said. “Meth is our No. 1 problem as far as growth in crime. “Our efforts need to reflect that.”
Police Chief Robert Noonan of suburban Wentzville, Mo., said that turning local cases over to the feds would result in stricter sentences for offenders. Hanaway said a person caught with about 1,000 pills of pseudoephedrine may receive a prison sentence of about eight years at no parole under federal law. Hanaway also plans to stress prosecution of child pornography cases. “It’s a normal week if we have about five to six guilty pleas on child pornography cases,” she said. “It’s so scary because it is accessible by computer in people’s homes. Child pornographers can show up anywhere and some are on the computers, soliciting children.”
Link: http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/neighborhoods/stories.nsf/news/story/CDD961C61B3A49578625705B00