Man who survived nail in temple sentenced on meth charges

Randy J. Cox, Jr. survived a nail in his temple, but he couldn’t dodge prison.

Cox, 57, a former Belleville roofer who gained notoriety when he survived being shot in the temple with a nail gun in 2004, pleaded guilty to making methamphetamine on Wednesday.

Cox initially balked at the agreed seven-year prison sentence, but eventually agreed. St. Clair County Chief Judge John Baricevic accepted the plea and imposed the sentence

In exchange for the plea, prosecutors dropped the felony from a Class X, punishable by up to 30 years, to a Class 1, which is punishable by up to 15 years. The plea will also allow Cox to receive drug treatment in prison.

“I hope the best for my client. I hope he gets the treatment he needs, and I hope that he can return to society as a productive and healthy citizen after serving his sentence,” said Cox’s lawyer Alex Enyart.

Cox was charged after Belleville police were called to a home in the 3500 block of West A Street after multiple complaints of overcrowding and suspicious activity. When police arrived, they found evidence of a meth lab, including ingredients used to make the drug.

In 2004, Cox went to an emergency room after a struggle over an air-powered nail gun left him with an inch-and-a-half roofing nail in his skull. He was airlifted to a St. Louis hospital where the nail was removed.

“It was like when you go swimming and clear your ears underwater,” Cox told a reporter in 2004. “They pulled on it and suddenly the pressure was gone.”

He was released from the hospital two days later.

This story was originally published June 17, 2015 at 3:50 PM with the headline "Man who survived nail in temple sentenced on meth charges."