A Jefferson City woman has pleaded guilty to an amended charge in connection with a July 2018 drug bust in Cole County.
Sonja Valenzuela, 29, pleaded guilty to one count of possession of a controlled substance during a Thursday hearing before Cole County Judge Dan Green.
She had been charged with second-degree drug trafficking, but prosecutors amended the charge and dropped two counts of unlawful use of a weapon along with one count of felony possession of a controlled substance and one count of misdemeanor possession of a controlled substance.
Also charged in this case is Joshua Rhodes, 28, of Jefferson City. He is charged with second-degree drug trafficking, possession of a controlled substance, unlawful use of a weapon, possession of more than 10 grams of marijuana and unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia. His case is scheduled to be in court next month.
The Cole County Sheriff's Department reported deputies were called to the 2700 block of Bess Hill Road - between the Schott Road water tower and the Moreau River, just outside Jefferson City limits - in reference to a possible weapons violation.
When they arrived, deputies found a man and a woman who were drunk and shooting off fireworks.
While at the scene, a deputy saw a handgun and a bag of marijuana in a truck - which led to a search of the truck, where deputies found three handguns, 134 grams of methamphetamine, 30 grams of ecstasy, 34 grams of marijuana, four Clonazepam pills, 27 grams of an unknown substance, digital scales and several used syringes.