Boonville man arrested for possession of drugs, rocket launcher
UPDATE 12/1: According to the probable cause statement, Owens had 24 M73 rocket launcher training rounds.
Deputies said they also found one additional round of the M73 rocket launcher training rounds had been altered. The altered round had PVC pipe around the base with fins located on the bottom. On the top of the PVC pipe was a cone made with aluminum foil over the top.
Owens has been charged with stealing a firearm/explosive weapon/Ammonium Nitrate and unlawful possession of an explosive weapon.
ORIGINAL STORY: The Howard County Sheriff’s Office, East Central Drug Task Force and the Missouri State Highway Patrol searched a home in the 1400 block of County Road 433 in Rocheport to execute a narcotics search warrant.
According to a press release, methamphetamine, drug paraphernalia, marijuana, a military grade rocket launcher and other suspicious devices were found. Christopher Lee Owens, 35, of Boonville, arrived at the home during the investigation and was arrested.
The rocket launcher has been reported as stolen from a Harrisburg home a month ago.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol Bomb Squad took hazardous items from the home to the Franklin Island Wildlife Area in New Franklin. On Thursday, the 763rd Explosives Ordinance Disposal Company and the Missouri State Highway Patrol Bomb Squad deemed the hazardous items as safe by a controlled explosion.
Owens was charged with felony unlawful possession of an explosive weapon and felony possession of stolen property. He is being held at the Howard County Jail on a $50,000 cash-only bond.
According to deputies at the Saline County Jail, Owens bonded out of a prior conviction on Nov. 29, the same day Howard County deputies arrested him for allegedly possessing a military-grade rocket launcher.
On Nov. 21, Owens was charged with six different crimes after a traffic stop led Saline County deputies to find drugs, a stolen gun and a scale. The drugs included tablets of Diazepam, marijuana and over 100 grams of methamphetamine. The large amount of meth prompted a felony charge of second-degree drug trafficking.
Owens was held in the Saline County Jail on a $10,000 bond before he bonded out.
