Car wreck results in drug charge

A felony drug charge was one result of an incident in which a car overturned in Tipton.

According to Court documents, a Missouri State Highway Patrol Trooper responded to a reported accident on Highway 50 in the City of Tipton on Dec. 25.

The officer determined a westbound 1996 Ford Crown Victoria appeared to have crossed the center line, driven off the left side of the road, slid through a ditch, struck a culvert and overturned.

When the officer arrived, the report indicated the car was on its side and the driver was sitting in another vehicle in the parking lot. The officer is alleged to have noticed among the debris which had fallen out of the car a baggie which had several smaller baggies inside it. The smaller baggies allegedly contained a substance which later tested positive for methamphetamine in a preliminary test.

The driver, Robert Joe Stoner II, 42, Tipton, reported he had hit a slick spot. Appearing uninjured, Stoner was reported to have said he was in some pain and would seek medical treatment on his own.

When the officer asked about the baggie found in the debris from the car, the driver was reported to have spoken belligerently to the trooper about not being able to search the vehicle.

Stoner was informed that no search was necessary.

The defendant was charged on Dec. 31 with Class B Felony Distribution, Delivery, Manufacture, Produce or Attempt to or Possess with intent to Distribute, Deliver, Manufacture, or Produce a Controlled Substance. If convicted on this charge, he could face from five to 15 years in prison. No bond is allowed pending arraignment.

On Jan. 2, a misdemeanor charge of careless and imprudent driving involving an accident was also filed against Stoner in connection with the same incident.