Columbia Business Owner Charged with Meth

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that the owner of a Columbia, Mo., business was charged in federal court today with possessing methamphetamine to distribute.

Troy C. Lewis, 30, of Columbia, was charged in a federal criminal complaint filed in the U.S. District Court in Springfield, Mo., with possessing 50 grams or more of methamphetamine with the intent to distribute.

Lewis, the owner of The Tint Shop in Columbia, remains in federal custody pending a detention hearing on Monday, Jan. 25, 2016.

According to an affidavit filed in support of today’s criminal complaint, Columbia police officers stopped a Chevy Tahoe on Rangeline Road near Prathersville Road in Columbia on Thursday, Jan. 21, 2016. Lewis was lying down on the third row seat of the Tahoe in an attempt to hide from officers, the affidavit says. Upon searching the Tahoe, officers located a bag containing approximately 527 grams of marijuana and a bag containing approximately 71 grams of concentrated marijuana, made for vaping, between the second and third row seats on the floorboard. Additionally, the affidavit says, officers located were two bags of marijuana under the cup holder next to the third row seat where Lewis was lying. Each of these two bags contained in excess of 500 grams. Officers also located approximately 170 grams of methamphetamine in the center console area under the front tray.

Dickinson cautioned that the charge contained in this complaint is simply an accusation, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charge must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.

This case is being prosecuted by Supervisory Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael S. Oliver. It was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Columbia, Mo., Police Department.