Murder suspect also faces loss of property

BONNE TERRE, Mo. -- If he is convicted on federal drug-trafficking charges, homicide suspect Melvin Scherrer could lose more than his freedom.

According to a grand-jury indictment handed down last month, Scherrer, 49, of Bonne Terre must forfeit three motorcycles, two pickup trucks, a gooseneck trailer, a 1969 Camaro, assorted jewelry, a handgun and more than three acres of real estate if he is convicted of distribution and possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine.

The search that led to the drug charges occurred July 24 -- a day before investigators discovered the remains of a Cape Girardeau tattoo artist in a septic tank northeast of Bonne Terre.

Scherrer faces five Missouri felony charges, including first-degree murder and felonious restraint, in connection with the death of the man, 38-year-old Samuel Francis.

The state charges are separate from the federal charges.

Scherrer waived the reading of the federal indictment last month and pleaded not guilty to the distribution and possession charge and two firearm charges related to the same case.

Online court records show he has not been arraigned on the charges related to Francis' death. A woman at the St. Francois County circuit clerk's office said last month the state charges have not gone forward yet because Scherrer remains in federal custody.

In August, the government filed a document disclosing its "arguably suppressible evidence," which includes a Jan. 14 statement by Scherrer; warrants for GPS devices to be placed on two vehicles; search and seizure of a 2003 Dodge Ram; two searches of Scherrer's property and seizure of several items, including methamphetamine, in January; search of electronic equipment, including several cellphones, a computer and other items; a July 22 search of a property on Viewpoint Lane in St. Louis; and wiretaps, tracing or other information for 22 telephone numbers.

An online search revealed half the numbers belonged to people in the St. Louis area; four to people in Farmington, Mo.; one to a person in Cape Girardeau; two to people in Park Hills, Mo.; one to someone in Jefferson City, Mo.; and three to people in Texas.

According to an affidavit filed July 24 in federal court, authorities tracked Scherrer's activities and determined he was buying methamphetamine from a supplier in Texas and distributing it in Missouri.

On Wednesday, U.S. Magistrate Judge David D. Noce issued an order extending the deadline for filing pretrial motions in the drug case to Oct. 2 and setting a pretrial evidentiary hearing for 9 a.m. Oct. 17.

Francis disappeared in December.

His adoptive father, Gary Francis, told the Southeast Missourian in February his son had gone to Cedar Lake in St. Francois County to do some tattoo work for members of a motorcycle gang, one of whom may have killed him.

epriddy@semissourian.com

388-3642

Pertinent address:

Bonne Terre, MO