Change of plea hearing set for Carl Junction man on meth, weapons charges

A 2:30 p.m. October 12, change of plea hearing is scheduled in U. S. District Court in Springfield for a Carl Junction man facing meth and weapons charges.

The trial for Chet Edwin Mercer, 34, had been scheduled to begin October 30.

Mercer's arrest came following an investigation by the Ozarks Drug Enforcement Team and is detailed in the arresting information filed in December 2021.

On November 30, 2021, at approximately 11 :00 a.m., ODET detectives executed a state search warrant at 27592 W. Fir Road, Carl Junction, Jasper County, Missouri, an address located in the Western District of Missouri. This address has been associated with Chet Edwin Mercer through surveillance and other investigative activities.

ODET detectives have previously conducted controlled narcotics purchases from Mercer at this address using a confidential informant. As detectives arrived at the property, Mercer was located near the entrance gate for the property along with two other unknown males. The two other unknown males were working on metal fencing that surrounds the property.

The Jasper County, Missouri, Sheriff's Office SWAT team assisted in clearing the property. The property was cleared and no other individuals were found to be on the property.

Detectives searched a large, two-bay garage located on the property. After making entry into the garage, detectives discovered a camping trailer located inside the garage. The camping trailer had clear indications that someone was currently living in it.

Inside the trailer, ODET detectives located a wallet that contained a Missouri driver's license for Chet Edwin Mercer and $850 in United States currency.

While searching the camping trailer, ODET Detective Josh Hanes located a military-style ammunition container located under the kitchen table. When Detective Hanes opened the container, he located a plastic, ziplock-style baggie containing a white crystal substance. The white crystal substance weighed approximately 370 grams. The white crystal substance was later field tested by ODET detectives and this test returned a presumptive positive for methamphetamine.

Based on my training and experience, I believe the amount of methamphetamine located inside the camping trailer to be a distributive amount and inconsistent with possession solely for personal use.

While searching the bedroom of the camping trailer, ODET detectives located a Springfield Armory handgun on the bed. Three vehicles previously associated with Mercer through investigative activities were also found on the property.

Other items located during the execution of the search were a .22 caliber rifle, a 12-gauge shotgun, a money counter, a stolen pickup, two stolen trailers, and a stolen all-terrain vehicle. The camping trailer Mercer was believed to be living in had also been reported stolen.