LOUISIANA, Mo. (HPD) — The police chief of a small town in Missouri has been charged with drug crimes after the body of his girlfriend’s brother, who apparently died of an overdose, was found in his apartment.
William Jones, 50, was charged Wednesday with drug trafficking, possession of a controlled substance and tampering with evidence. He was jailed on $150,000 bail.
Jones is the police chief of Louisiana, Missouri, a town of 3,200 about 90 miles (145 kilometers) north of St. Louis.
Jones’s girlfriend, Alexis Thone, 25, was charged with drug trafficking and possession of a controlled substance and jailed. She set her bail at $100,000.
Pike County Sheriff Stephen Korte said an off-duty police officer called authorities shortly before 10 p.m. Tuesday to report a death at Jones and Thone’s apartment. Rescuers found 24-year-old Gabriel Thone dead.
Gabriel Thone was the brother of Alexis Thone. Another 21-year-old brother was at home with breathing difficulties, the sheriff said, but was revived with naxolone, a drug used to treat opioid overdoses.
Officer Denia Calvin said in a probable cause statement that investigators found a substance that appeared to be fentanyl. The Missouri Highway Patrol will test the material in the lab.
The statement says Jones “attempted to destroy, suppress and conceal material evidence” by dumping narcotics in a dumpster before officers arrived.
Jones was arrested Wednesday. It was unclear if he was still police chief.