Judge sentences St. Louis County man for his role in drug trafficking organization

 ST. LOUIS – United States District Judge John A. Ross sentenced Amos Vonzell Blanchard, Jr. to 54 months in prison today. The 45-year-old Florissant, Missouri resident previously pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute cocaine and cocaine base and one count of possession with the intent to distribute cocaine base.

Beginning in 2018, investigators with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the St. Louis County Police Department began an investigation into a group of cocaine and cocaine base distributors operating in and around St. Louis County. Blanchard, Jr., along with others, was obtaining cocaine and cocaine base for redistribution.

On January 15, 2019, investigators executed a search warrant at Blanchard, Jr.’s stash house in the 6400 block of Ridge Avenue. Detectives observed Blanchard, Jr. holding a black latex glove while trying to open a bedroom window from inside the residence. The glove was found to contain more than 66 individual clear plastic baggies of cocaine base, commonly known as “crack” cocaine, 52 tablets of methamphetamine and a small amount of powder cocaine.

This case was an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the St. Louis County Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Lisa Yemm is handling the case.