Repeat offender gets prison time for drug case

A Jefferson City man convicted three times in drug cases since 2002 has been sentenced to seven years in prison for pleading guilty to drug charges after a March traffic stop in Cole County.

Brandon Betts, 33, pleaded guilty to two felony counts of possession of a controlled substance. Charges of tampering with physical evidence, delivering or concealing prohibited articles at a jail were dismissed.

Deputies stopped Betts in the 6000 block of West Business 50 for failing to stop at a stop sign, according to the Cole County Sheriff's Department.

A strong odor of marijuana was coming from the vehicle, so deputies ordered Betts out of the vehicle and searched him. Deputies found a large amount of cash and a clear plastic bag with a powdered substance that tested positive for cocaine.

Betts was brought back to the Cole County Jail, and while being held in a detention cell, he was seen on camera trying to remove an item from his pants and throw it in the toilet. He attempted to flush the toilet, but the water was turned off. Betts then appeared to remove two more items from his pants to throw in the toilet.

Deputies searched the toilet and found a clear plastic bag with marijuana inside it, along with another bag of crack cocaine.