CARL E. THOMPSON, d/o/b 7-20-1964, of Rockaway Beach, Missouri, entered a guilty plea Wednesday, February 25, 2015, in the Circuit Court of Taney County, to the class C felony of possession of controlled substance. The guilty plea was entered via closed-circuit video, while Thompson remained housed in the custody of the Missouri Department of Corrections. Pursuant to a plea agreement with the Taney County Prosecutor’s Office, Thompson was sentenced to five (5) years in prison by Circuit Court Judge Laura Johnson.

On February 3, 2014, a Taney County Sheriff’s deputy made contact with Thompson as part of an investigation into an unrelated crime. During the course of this contact, the deputy discovered that Thompson was in possession of a baggie of methamphetamine.

At the time of Thompson’s guilty plea Wednesday, he was in the Missouri Department of Corrections for a violation of his parole. “By conducting the guilty plea by video, Taney County was spared the expense of transporting Mr. Thompson to court in Forsyth, then back to the prison,” says Taney County Prosecuting Attorney Jeff Merrell. “While not all cases can be disposed of by video, each case that is provides a savings to our citizens.”