Drugs, more than $11K found during traffic stop in Harrisonville City Park

Harrisonville police arrested a Peculiar man Oct. 14 after finding more than an ounce of methamphetamine, more than four ounces of marijuana, and $11,520 in cash during a traffic stop at City Park.

The Cass County prosecutor’s office charged the driver, Darin W. Thomas, with two counts of delivery of a controlled substance.

The charges came after police stopped a black 2000 GMC Sierra pickup truck that Thomas, 45, was driving at around 2:30 p.m. on Oct. 14 in Harrisonville City Park, according to a news release from the agency. Thomas was not wearing a seat belt, a probable cause statement said.

During the traffic stop, police noted that Thomas appeared to be “very nervous with his hands shaking.” When an officer asked Thomas what he was doing, the driver said he was going to a family reunion at the park.

The probable cause statement said the officer asked Thomas if he could search the truck, but the driver declined the search. The officer then said he would conduct a free-air sniff with the agency’s K-9, Uxo.

A second officer at the scene of the traffic stop said he saw a plastic baggie with a green leafy substance in Thomas’ right-side cargo pocket. That’s when an officer placed Thomas in handcuffs.

On the driver’s side door, the agency said its K-9 alerted to the odor of narcotics. The dog went inside the truck on the front driver’s seat, and a soft case was found underneath the center console.

Inside the case, police said they found a large sum of cash — $11,520 after it was counted — in rubber bands.

A Harrisonville detective who arrived at the scene moments later said he advised Thomas of his rights and asked the driver if he understood, which he said he did.

The detective then asked Thomas if there was anything in the truck. Thomas answered that he didn’t know.

The detective said he opened the tailgate of the truck and found a blue cooler under the bed cover.

Inside the cooler, police found several digital scales, multiple baggies, glass smoking pipes, and a green leafy substance packaged separately with names, such as “Cotton Candy Kush,” “Fort Nelson,” and “Snowball,” along with the weight of the substances in grams written with a black marker on the packaging.

Police also said they found a large magnetic box with a drawstring pouch inside. The pouch had four baggies of a white crystal substance, which police said later tested positive for methamphetamine.

Along with methamphetamine, police found two more sets of digital scales with residue, a glass smoking pipe with residue, and more plastic baggies.

All of the items found in the truck were sent to a crime laboratory of the Missouri State Highway Patrol for drug testing.

Online court records indicate Thomas has been charged and convicted previously for drug possession in Jackson and Cass counties.

Most recently, Thomas pleaded guilty in Jackson County to possession of a controlled substance in 2014. He was ordered to serve two years of supervised probation, which court records indicate he completed in 2016.

Thomas was charged Oct. 15 with two counts of delivery of controlled substance, which is a Class C felony in Missouri and carries a sentence of 3 to 10 years, and remained in the Cass County jail Oct. 16 with bail set at $35,000.

This story was originally published October 16, 2017 at 4:19 PM with the headline "Drugs, more than $11K found during traffic stop in Harrisonville City Park."