PEVELY, Mo. — Officials in Jefferson County believe a multi-million dollar investment will help fight crime in one of our region’s fastest growing areas.
According to Sheriff Dave Marshak, theft is one of the most common crimes in Jefferson County, and often one of the most difficult to prosecute.
"It's frustrating when the person is committing more crimes, and we can't charge them on the initial crime,” Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney Trisha Stefanski said. “We can't charge them on the initial crime, and we keep seeing their name over and over again. We know it's frustrating for the public. We see the comments of how was he arrested in March and it's August and he's got another crime."
For years, evidence collected in Jefferson County was shipped off to the state crime lab for testing.
"They're backlogged,” Stefanski said. “They have to pick and choose what they're testing."
"It's not unusual to have a turn-around time of eight months on some controlled substances and up to a year on some DNA,” Marshak said. “We think we should have the ability to prioritize cases for our community."
Thanks to an $11-million dollar investment, the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office will now have the ability to process that evidence in house at their new crime lab in Pevely.
"This investment will enhance our DNA profile and enhance our ability to test substances much quicker,” Marshak said.
"Before I came here today our narcotics prosecutor was very excited,” Stefanski said. “It will change her world. She won't have to wait for lab results. She'll be able to charge them more quickly and get those people off the streets."
Stefanski said the new crime lab is a game changer for all nine law enforcement agencies in Jefferson County, which will now have the ability to process trace amounts of DNA, known as touch DNA, often left behind on stolen cars.
"Now with this new lab we can get some of the touch DNA, and prosecute some of those cases, and send a message that it's not OK in Jefferson County,” Stefanski said.
The bulk of the $11-million price tag is being paid for using federal COVID relief funds.
If all goes to plan, the new crime lab will open sometime in 2025.
