2 BEL-RIDGE POLICEMEN ARE ACCUSED OF BUYING COCAINE

Two Bel-Ridge police officers who drove to a secluded parking lot in St.
Peters - to buy $100 worth of cocaine, authorities charge - instead wound
up in jail Friday on felony drug charges.

Bel-Ridge traffic Officers Patrick J. Redenbaugh, 24, of St. Peters, and
Jonathan E. Terris, 30, of St. Charles, were being held Friday by St.
Peters authorities.

In 1996, the St. Louis Regional Traffic Safety Council named Terris its
officer of the year. In eight months, Terris wrote about 1,100 speeding
tickets and made 148 arrests, 53 for drunken driving.

Redenbaugh was charged with possession of a controlled substance. Terris
was charged with attempted possession of a controlled substance.

Terris is listed as a full-time traffic officer and Redenbaugh as a
part-time traffic officer in a recent Bel-Ridge department roster. The
Bel-Ridge department has 15 full-time and four part-time officers.

According to police, court documents and St. Charles County Prosecuting
Attorney Jack Banas, the arrest was made by St. Peters police Sgt. Wayne
Castello, who had been on patrol in plain clothes and in an unmarked car
about midnight Thursday when he noticed a pickup with a snow plow on front
and an SUV parked behind a supermarket at 60 Harvester Square.

Castello became suspicious when the SUV's passenger got out of the car and
climbed into the truck, authorities said. Castello approached the truck and
saw the passenger, identified later as Redenbaugh, try to hide something,
authorities said.

Police said they recovered from Redenbaugh a clear plastic bag containing
$100 worth of cocaine.

Charged with sale of the drug was the owner of the pickup, Phillip S.
Rauch, 26, of Bel-Ridge.

Bail for the three suspects was set at $20,000 each.

Banas called the incident "pretty outrageous."

Authorities said they suspected that the officers called Rauch Thursday
night and arranged to meet him behind the supermarket, where the officers
planned to buy about one-eighth ounce of cocaine.

Terris, the owner and driver of the SUV, had his police weapon and another
gun when he was arrested, Banas said.

A Bel-Ridge trustee, Zachary Keys, said the two officers had been suspended
until the case was resolved. Keys said the charges were disappointing but
added he hoped there would be no "rush to judgment" against the officers.
Bel-Ridge Police Chief Gordon Brock was unavailable for comment.

Terris also has been in the news in another incident. On Nov. 26, 2002, he
fired seven times at a man brandishing a gun near two schools in Normandy.
The suspect, Shawn Brown, later told officers his plan was to get one of
them to kill him. He drew Terris' notice by driving 113 mph, passing Terris
on Natural Bridge Road. Terris did a U-turn and chased Brown.

Brown pulled between two schools, got out of his car and pointed a fake but
real-looking weapon at Terris, who fired seven times. One shot struck Brown
in the leg; the others hit unoccupied cars.

Jeremy Kohler and Heather Ratcliffe of the Post-Dispatch contributed to
this report.