Four people are facing various drug and weapon-related charges after Perry County deputies were dispatched last week to serve a court order to remove the residents of a Perryville house and turn the property over to its owner.
Tressa M. Cooper, 49, of Perryville, was charged with unlawful possession of a firearm while Kenneth W. Ruessler, 36, of St. Mary, and Edward D. Bone, 28, of Perryville, were each charged with felony drug possession and unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia. Sunshine J. Petrie, 28, of Perryville, was charged with unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia.
"We got an execution to remove these people from the residence," said Sheriff Gary Schaaf, "and the guy that was asking for the execution told us that he suspected there was drug use. He was right."
According to reports from the Perry County Sheriff's Office, at approximately 10:42 a.m. on Thursday, Feb. 6, deputies arrived at 826 Edgemont Blvd. to serve the court ordered execution.
On their arrival, they entered the residence and found the four individuals along with assorted drugs and related paraphernalia — including substances that tested positive for methamphetamine and heroin.
In a probable cause statement filed in the case, Sgt. Jason Kelley stated that when deputies entered the residence, they found Bone, Ruessler and Petrie inside, along with numerous items of drug paraphernalia in plain view, including hypodermic needles and a marijuana pipe on the coffee table. A further search revealed more hypodermic needles, a marijuana grinder and a marijuana pipe — all in plain view — in the basement of the residence, along with mail and pill bottles bearing Bone's name.
Meanwhile, in the kitchen, a blue and yellow stocking cap was found on a table with a black zip-up case inside. The case contained numerous hypodermic needles and two plastic baggies containing a substance that field tested positive for methamphetamine. Bone told deputies the methamphetamine was his.
A second stocking cap was also discovered, this one wrapped around a black eyeglass case which contained two baggies of cotton balls, two syringes and a cellophane wrapper containing four heroin buttons. Reussler told deputies the heroin was his.
As they cleared the property, deputies located Cooper in a back shed, along with a Pardner 12-gauge shotgun standing up against the bed she slept in. Cooper maintained that the shotgun wasn't hers.
"I had prior knowledge Cooper was a convicted felon," wrote Kelley, who said he made it clear to Cooper that the restriction against felons when it came to firearms was a matter of possession rather than ownership. "It was explained to Cooper she could not reside in a residence with a firearm and have easy access."
Cooper's previous felony conviction was on a charge of aggravated DUI (third offense) out of Illinois. Ruessler is currently on parole for a burglary charge.
Petrie was booked and released with a summons to appear in court. The others were being held at the Perry County jail.
