Jefferson City woman gets probation after pleading guilty in steroids case

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Cole County judge has sentenced a woman to probation after she was accused of dealing anabolic steroids.

According to the Cole County Prosecuting Attorney's Office, Amber Duenkel, of Jefferson City, pleaded guilty Monday to an amended felony count of possession of a controlled substance. She was previously charged with a felony count of distribution of a controlled substance.

A judge sentenced Duenkel to three years of supervised probation through the Missouri Department of Probation and Parole.

The former Cole County Sheriff's deputy was indicted in June 2019 along with Luke Gabriel, of Jefferson City, for selling the steroids between August 2017 to May 2019. Sheriff John Wheeler previously said Duenkel was fired in May 2019 for policy violations. The Missouri State Highway Patrol handled the investigation to avoid a conflict of interest, Wheeler said.

Duenkel and Gabriel also co-owned Capital Fitness in Jefferson City at the time of their indictments.

Gabriel pleaded guilty in June to a felony count of distribution of a controlled substance.

He was sentenced to five years of supervised probation.