Drug arrest in Columbia

An East St. Louis man was arrested on drug charges following a bizarre incident that occurred early Wednesday morning in Columbia.

A woman residing in a rental property in the 600 block of Bridgeview Drive called police shortly before 6:30 a.m. to report that her boyfriend had a gun and would not let her leave the residence. There had been a recent prior domestic situation at that location, so Illinois State Police and the Monroe County Sheriff’s Department assisted Columbia in responding to the incident.

There was no immediate answer at the home upon police arrival, but an occupant eventually came to the door and let police in. The woman who made the 911 call was not present at the home, police said, but officers did discover less than 15 grams of a substance believed to contain cocaine inside.

Police arrested Cornell A. Wren, 30, of East St. Louis, with possession of a controlled substance.

Officers were able to speak with the woman who made the initial call and determined she was OK, Columbia Police Chief Jerry Paul said. However, the information she initially provided to police does not appear to be accurate.

Further possible charges in connection with this incident are pending, Paul said.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Corey Saathoff

Corey is the editor of the Republic-Times. He has worked at the newspaper since 2004, and currently resides in Columbia. He is also the principal singer-songwriter and plays guitar in St. Louis area country-rock band The Trophy Mules.
HTC web
MonroeCountyElectric300X15012_19