For further information please contact: Sergeant Dale H. Moreland
(573) 840-9500
073041
July 30, 2007

EMPHASIS: Traffic Stop On MO 153 Results In Drug Arrest




On July 17, 2007, at approximately 11:09 p.m. a member of the Missouri State Highway Patrol stopped a 2005 Lincoln traveling north on Missouri Highway 153 south of U.S. Highway 60 in Stoddard County for improper lane usage.

The driver, Sylvester Lee Tate Jr., 27, of New Madrid, MO, was stopped for improper lane usage. As the trooper spoke to the driver he asked for permission to search and was denied. A Highway Patrol K-9 officer was requested to respond to the scene. The K-9 alerted on the vehicle and two bundles of marijuana were located concealed under the front passenger seat. Tate and Christopher A. Howard, 30, of Sikeston, MO, were arrested and taken to the Stoddard County Jail.

The charges for which Sylvester L. Tate Jr., and Christopher A. Howard were arrested for are mere accusations and are not evidence of guilt. Evidence in support of the charges must be presented before a court of competent jurisdiction whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.



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