Probable Cause Statement

This person is not a client of mine and I did not get this information through any privileged communication. What you are going to read here came off a service the courts in Missouri use called casenet. It is accessible by the general public. I do not know if the public can get the same things that attorneys can.

When felony charges are filed in Missouri the police and prosecutor file what is called a “probable cause statement.” It sets out what the police claim is enough “probable cause” to justify a warrant being issued. These statements are kept very brief on the theory that the less the police officer puts in the statement the less he or she can be questioned abut later.

Crazy Account of Events

I will not identify the case number or the defendant’s name here, just the facts as laid out in the probable cause statement. The statement leaves a lot of questions in my mind. But so do so many cases I handle. Here is a summary of what it says:

The defendant in this case is being charged with possession of controlled substances. The reporting officer says that the detainee was booked into the local jail for a parole violation in reference to the original charge of sale of a controlled substance and assault third degree. The detainee was ready to be transported to the county Department of Corrections and was in the local jail cell by himself. As the correction officer walked to open the detainee cell she observed an unknown substance in a plastic bag inside the toilet. Inside the clear plastic baggie was what appeared to be a mushroom. The detainee was read his Miranda rights and he denied knowing what the substance was. He was escorted out of the local jail cell and as he took a couple of steps forward another plastic baggie containing a white powdery substance fell out of his jumpsuit pant leg. The plastic baggie containing a white powdery substance was seized and later sent to the local county crime lab for drug analysis. That baggie contained 2 separate smaller baggies which were tested by the lab for drug analysis and the results determined the first bag to be positive for heroin, methamphetamine, fentanyl and cocaine. The second bag tested positive for heroin, fentanyl and cocaine. The detainee was the sole occupant of the jail cell and the only person in possession of the controlled substances.

This Should be Interesting

First of all I really wish I could hear what this guy’s defense is going to be. I mean he is already on parole for a drug offense.

But just as curious to me is how this guy got arrested and put in a prisoner jumpsuit and none of the police officers found these controlled substances. If the probable cause statement is accurate this guy has drugs falling out of the clothing that the police department gave him. Why would he throw the mushroom min the toilet and not flush it? Why wouldn’t he flush all of it?

Well, there are many answers to those questions. Do you believe the probable cause statement? Is it all true, part of it true or none of it true?

It will be interesting to follow this case and find out what happens.