Jefferson City man pleads guilty to amended drug charge

A Jefferson City man pleaded guilty to an amended charge in a drug case from May 2020.

During a hearing before Cole County Judge Cotton Walker, Dennis Washington, 50, pleaded guilty to accessory possession of a controlled substance. Prosecutors amended the charge down from second-degree drug trafficking and dismissed a charge of accessory delivery of a controlled substance against Washington.

Washington was placed on five years supervised probation. He faces seven years in prison if he fails to meet conditions of his probation.

Narcotics detectives saw a hand-to-hand narcotics transaction between Washington and another drug dealer on the parking lot of Gerbes Super Store on Schotthill Woods Drive, according to Jefferson City Police Department probable cause statements.

When the two left the store parking lot, authorities followed and stopped them in their respective vehicles in the 800 block of Eastland Drive.

Washington was found to have four bags of crack cocaine and admitted to purchasing the crack for $600 from the other dealer.

When officers searched the other dealer, he was in possession of a bag of crack cocaine and $600 in cash.