Two arrested in JC drug bust

Monday, November 26, 2012

A major drug bust was made Sunday by Missouri Highway Patrol troopers after a traffic stop in Jefferson City.

According to patrol reports, a trooper initiated a traffic stop near West Stadium Boulevard and Hyde Park Road.

After making contact with the driver, the smell of marijuana was detected emanating from inside the vehicle.

A search of the vehicle revealed approximately one-half pound of marijuana.

After a search warrant was obtained for the driver's residence, approximately 15 pounds of marijuana, distribution materials, and over $50,000 in cash was seized.

The driver, Clayton A. Schaben, 21, of, Jefferson City, MO, and his passenger, Katelin J. Borden, 22, Gainesville, FL, were arrested and charged with felony possession of marijuana with the intent to distribute and possession of drug paraphernalia.

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asb 5 months, 4 weeks ago

Two people and fifteen pounds is a bust, but is not a major bust, sorry NT, this city goes through that much pot in a couple of weeknights.

Paroquet 5 months, 4 weeks ago

Doing the math, that's between 60 & 240 "typical" units that would qualify as personal possession, and an amount easily distributed within a weeks time. I'm with ASB; not exactly what one would call "major", except for the cash.

I wonder what they were initially stopped for?

sancho 5 months, 4 weeks ago

I beg to differ. 16 pounds X 16 ounces/pound = 256. I may not be up to date with pot smoking business models, but that's a significant amount of pot smoking in my opinion. 256 or more customers don't have access to this supplier's product - to me that makes a difference and is significant.

Thank you highway patrol and anyone else involved in this bust.

Sequoia 5 months, 4 weeks ago

Fifteen pounds ain't nothing to sneeze at, depending on the quality. But, Sancho, the customers won't do without, at least not for long... they'll just get it from somewhere else. Cops only get the low-hanging fruit, like 20-somethings who break traffic laws while riding dirty. The smart ones don't get caught, and there is enough supply and demand and profit. For every bust there are 100 people who get through, and for every dealer off the street, there are 10 more waiting to take their place.

I assume they didn't confiscate any guns, so in my view these two young people are harmless and this whole exercise is a waste of time and money.

The war on marijuana is a moral crusade, not a practical and realistic strategy to prevent drug abuse. In general, moral crusades are bound to fail.

asb 5 months, 4 weeks ago

More like 500 half bags Sancho, and gone in a couple or few day in JC. There are over 40,000 people in this city, many of whom smoke routinely. And here's the important thing about the War on Drugs, it's been replaced already. And think of the taxes available on that $50K and 250 oz. Instead, it goes to illegal growers, maybe a drug machine, and possibly a cop or two. Pot good, illegal trade bad.

RobHunterJohnson 5 months, 4 weeks ago

There is an underground economy, to which the state needs to tap into! Rob

PatsyDecline 5 months, 3 weeks ago

Does everyone feel safer now??

Here is the really sad part....these kids are being charged with a Class B Felony.

One could sit down....drink a bottle of whiskey....hop in your car...and go run over a procession of school children killing them all....

AND IT WOULD STILL BE A CLASS B FELONY!!

connor 5 months, 3 weeks ago

Is there even a crime anymore that isn't a felony? Drunk driving requires three arrests and small amounts of pot I guess isn't a felony now but even losing your job and being unable to pay child support is a felony these days.

PatsyDecline 5 months, 3 weeks ago

So in effect you agree that a single dead child is the equivalent to pot distribution....but not a procession of dead children....got it.

The only true permanent damage it causes is the destroyed lives and families in the name of "justice" due to its ludicrous status as a Class 1 narcotic.

sancho 5 months, 3 weeks ago

As usual I am having difficulty following the discussion on the NT forum. I tend to focus on what is important to me, which is that the growing crime in this community is dealt with. Here's how I see it: Over a year ago there were people dealing drugs in my neighborhood. One guy sold pot (20 or so cars pulled up to his place in one day). He probably sold other stuff too. Anolther guy sold heroin and cocaine. There was open drug dealing on a corner where children constantly passed by on their way to school and home. It got so bad there were 3 shootings in a month. I suspect all the shooters were high at the time because they all missed and no one was injured, but really it was just a matter of time before an innocent person was hit. A lot of work on the part of the neighborhood and police got results. There were arrests. The guy who sold heroin and cocaine is in the Dept of Corrections. The guy who sold pot moved out and his case is pending. Sure, he probably set up shop elsewhere. But I suspect he will end up in prison too. Neither one of them are preying on our neighborhood.

You guys who are saying don't pick on the poor little pot dealers are missing the point. They are all part of the problem. Make this a bad place for all of those vermon to do business. In the end they will shut down their shops and leave. Some will go elsewhere to do their crimes, others will get arrested and do time, and a few will figure out how to survive without selling drugs.

There have not been any shootings in my neighborhood since those clowns got arrested. Neighbors are relieved and commenting about how much safer they feel. Our little block is becoming a community. That is significant. And to make that happen both the hard core dealer and the petty pot peddler had to go. Thank you JCPD. Keep up the good work.

Sequoia 5 months, 3 weeks ago

Certainly, open dealing and gunplay are bad, bad, bad. I do think those people needed police attention. Neighbors have every right to stand up to anyone who causes trouble like that, and police have the duty to crack down on that kind of behavior.

My point is that indiscriminate dealing and shootouts are caused by prohibition. Most people who use cannabis do not commit any other crimes, and many people who sell cannabis do not traffic in any other narcotic. Certainly, that's not always the case, but, again, that's a function of prohibition.

Take cannabis out of the black market, and you won't have any more people dealing pot out of neighborhood houses.

The violence and criminality is a product of money, and money is a product of the black market. The black market is a product of prohibition.

dokeus6 5 months, 3 weeks ago

Too bad this conservative state will never put the legalization of pot on the ballot for the people to decide whether it should be legal or not. Talk about taking away our freedoms.

JCLifer 5 months, 3 weeks ago

Start a referendum petition. Of course, potheads are too lazy to do that- it would take work,

dokeus6 5 months, 3 weeks ago

I'm not advocating the lifestyle, like other alternative lifestyles. What ever floats their boat. But what I am advocating is the people are speaking and the governments are not listening. The law of the land is the will of the people. Not the corporations that are considered citizens either.

JCLifer 5 months, 3 weeks ago

Yeah, it would be nice if it worked that way...

tonto_goldberg 5 months, 3 weeks ago

Serve pizza and chips at the signature table.

RobHunterJohnson 5 months, 3 weeks ago

Brownies! Rob

eileen10 5 months, 3 weeks ago

Remember LSD and sugar cubes?

RobHunterJohnson 5 months, 3 weeks ago

Can I have another one of those wonderful Brownies! Rob

TickledPink 5 months, 3 weeks ago

How do you think it got passed in Colorado? "Potheads" gathered the required signatures and got it on the ballot. I know a couple people who work high paying professional positions, well educated, great parents and are regular pot smokers. Yes, there will always be plenty of the stereotypical bong hittin, do nothin, Twinkie eatin variety, but from what I've seen, those aren't the majority.

EDIT: I guess they're not eating Twinkies anymore ....

asb 5 months, 3 weeks ago

I think a referendum or inititive petition would be a good next step. Religious conservatives would make such efforts stillborn, but it would start a process that's working elsewhere. The Washington state approach is a good model, it sets up a regulatory system based on recreational use without the phooey of medical justification. It also sets up a federal/state standoff that may bring federal legislation. Having a state as red as Missouri debating the issue is a good sign that reason hasn't left the building. Now we just need, uh, wait, what were we talking about? :)

Sequoia 5 months, 3 weeks ago

Lifer, those lazy pot smokers are a few steps ahead of you.

show-mecannabis.com/

spelchek 5 months, 3 weeks ago

Money makes people do bad things due to lack of morals. Morals that are disappearing because of lack of responsibility, shame, or consequences. Behavior is the problem, not money. Until I see Bill Gates gang bangin' I can't buy your theory.

JCLifer 5 months, 3 weeks ago

Sancho, I am glad you got some relief in your neighborhood. Most of the effort around here goes to picking up those hellions down on the Expressway who exceed the 40-MPH speed limit. Many of our neighborhoods are full of pot heads, meth addicts, crackheads, as well a rapists, assaultists, robbers, burglers, etc. and the JCPD doesn't seem to ever do anything about it, even though it is common knowledge that this stuff goes on all the time.

sancho 5 months, 3 weeks ago

What's wrong with traffic stops? The one in this article resulted in getting 16 pounds of pot out of circulation.

JC, I agree the "JCPD doesn't seem to ever do anything about" the crimes you mentioned. But I think that what seems to be happening is not what is happening. I think they are doing things, and they are getting results. That's what I learned in our neighborhood. For a year people called them, reported things, gave them license plate numbers, descriptions, etc. They took the info, and said be patient. Then one morning, before dawn, they showed up with a warrant and more, and surprise surprise, they arrested the guy and found what they were looking for. In the following month they made at least 3 other arrests in the area. And since the arrests things have been very good. It took JCPD a long time and a lot of hard work, but they built their case and it paid off.

JC, don't underestimate the police. They are much slicker than you realize, and they probably like it that way.

sancho 5 months, 3 weeks ago

This is not Colorado or Washington state. I doubt if legalizing grass will pass here, if it does get on the ballot.

One friend I have that smokes pot on a regular basis, and has for her whole adult life, is miserable and uses pot to escape her misery rather than dealing with what makes her unhappy. One relative of mine started smoking pot as a teenager. By the time he was in his 20s he progressed to alcohol, cocaine and crack. Lucky for him he got arrested, ended up in AA and turned his life around. He calls those years of addiction his lost decade. Imagine looking back and realizing for 10 years of the life God gave you, you were high on something and can't remember most of it. And he started down that path with a joint.

I know too many people that started down the path of self destruction by smoking pot and telling themselves there was nothing wrong with it.

dokeus6 5 months, 3 weeks ago

How about alcohol? You talk about a correlation between alcohol and other ills in society. I have seen alcohol ruin many more lives than smoking pot every has. People drinking and then getting behind the wheel, Killing innocent people with a two and a half ton vehicle. Men getting drunk on whiskey and going home and beating his wife and their kids.

Oh yea, pot really makes people want to do that.

Sequoia 5 months, 3 weeks ago

Anything that makes you feel good... substances, booze, food, sex, stuff on the internet, even exercise, can be abused. The problem is with the person, not the thing being abused. A thing is value neutral. It is the person that makes a thing good or bad.

Drug addiction should be treated like a medical and psychological issue, not a criminal case.

I've known a few potheads in my day (they like to hang around Sequoia's neighborhood in the redwood forest). Not a single one has ever become addicted to harder drugs.

spelchek 5 months, 3 weeks ago

I'm OK with legalizing weed. However, I fear of a government dependent society (we're on our way) now with another perk. Social safety nets were designed for those who truly couldn't help themselves (see the Dust Bowl). Too many shameless leaches have decided to stress these programs thus making it harder for those truly in need to get the help they deserve. Figure this out first, then we can talk more seriously about making weed legal.

JCLifer 5 months, 3 weeks ago

Entitlement programs that are ever-growing and sinking our country into deep debt and economic collapse. Now is not a good time to talk about expanding entitlement programs. The only way we are going to fix the budget is by severely slashing entitlement programs and raising taxes. There isn't enough discretionary money left in the budget these days to make any difference.

The days of handing out more freebies HAVE to come to an end.

spelchek 5 months, 3 weeks ago

Agreed. Problem is, there are no adults in the room.

dokeus6 5 months, 3 weeks ago

You mean adults that cast aspersions towards others because they have differing opinions than other adults. You mean adults that cant reason with each other and call others names and adults who can't seem to form a rational opinion other than what they hear on a partisan news channel. Are These the adults you want in the room to solve problems Spel?

Sequoia 5 months, 3 weeks ago

Wait, what "freebies" are we talking about on this thread? You guys sound like a broken record...

JCLifer 5 months, 3 weeks ago

Supporting the shameless leeches that will be increased as a result of more pot smoking.

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