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Mary Elizabeth Brockman, 38, was charged Thursday, Jan. 21, in Saline County Circuit Court with class C felony possession of a controlled substance, according to unofficial online court records.
Sheriff's deputies and Missouri State Highway Patrol troopers served the warrant about 2:25 p.m. Information leading to the issuance of the warrant came from an investigation conducted by Marshall police, and a Marshall police officer was present as an observer, according to Sheriff Wally George.
Brockman was in custody Thursday morning, Jan. 21. Bond was set at $10,000 cash-only.
During the search, officers found a pouch, digital scales, a metal spoon with a substance that tested positive for the presence of methamphetamine, a small cotton ball, two used syringes, a makeshift tourniquet and a snorting straw, according to the report.
Editor's note: Charges contained in reports provided by law enforcement officials are not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting charges must be presented before a jury, whose duty is to determine if the accused is guilty or not guilty of the charges.
Contact Eric Crump at marshalleditor@socket.net
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I read the paper most every day and find that there is such going on all around. People will do what they want and I don't beleive that a small town or large city will make much difference to those that want to do those things that they get into trouble for. We cannot blame the township. We can only blame those that think they can break the law and get by with it. We all know that we are not allowed to do what this person did. If she lived in Marshall she would probably have done the same thing. If she lived in Kanasa City she would have probably done the same. She is the one to blame for what she has done.
Its generally the same people EVERY time and there are just as many people in the paper from Malta Bend for crime as there are from Marshall( and there are what 12000 more people in Marshall). I'm not saying Marshall is the magnificent crime free place to live- but get an average of the crimes committed in each town (based on population) and you tell me which one seems worse. Why is it they always make the paper for somebody doing something illegal, but rarely, extremely rarely, make the paper for anything good happening there? That place used to be a great place to live and raise your family but over the years has gone down hill. With a population of 200 there really shouldn't be much "crime" to make the paper about. The school has been broken into at least 4 times in the past few years. Once a week may have been exaggerated, but my point is there are too many people making the paper from that town for major crimes (not counting the ones that didnt make the paper) to have such a small population.
krsary, your statement that "Once a week there is somebody in the paper from Malta Bend who has committed some type of crime." is absolutely not true.
Prior to this story, there were three stories in November, one in July, two in June, two in April and one in February.
Not quite a crime wave, eh?
Once a week there is somebody in the paper from Malta Bend who has committed some type of crime. This is why people are moving out of Malta Bend. Yes, generally children are safer in smaller towns, but Malta Bend is not one of those towns. The school might have good teachers, but they really aren't classified as a "good" school (they rank very low in the state for performance). Many of the decent individuals are moving out of the town for these reasons. If you took a per capita crime rate, I'm sure MB ranks higher than Marshall or other surrounding areas.
"What are you all thinking!!!!! You people seem to all be anti-government and anti-law enforcement. "
Inasmuch as America claims to be the freest country on earth, yet has the highest rate of incarceration in the world (having passed Russia), I'm thinking America may be spiraling toward a societal breakdown, or a police-state, or both, or something else. I do not believe anyone is above the law.
Tito - I live in the Malta Bend school district, and know many families that have moved their kids out of that school, some even paying tuition to do so. Their reasoning behind the move was to provide more opportunities for their kids, not avoiding crime.
Malta Bend is a good school with good teachers who care about their students. They are trying to do more for the students there, but facts are facts, Marshall and other surrounding schools just have more available programs for the kids. Thats it.
Seriously, Malta Bend does not make the paper all that much, AND the town is so small that most things that happen are outside of the city limits.
On top of that, crime happens everywhere, and more frequently in larger areas. With that said, it seems like kids in smaller towns and smaller schools would be safer than those in bigger towns and schools wouldn't they?
What are you all thinking!!!!!
First, "plain view" not "line of sight"!
Second, I guess if the officers found a dead body under the bed, ooooops out of plain view. I guess we have to leave it!!! DUH!!! You people seem to all be anti-government and anti-law enforcement. Get a grip people!!!
Another fine day..... in Malta Bend and people wonder why some want the district re-zoned so their children could attend Marshall schools???
-- Posted by Tito on Thu, Jan 21, 2010, at 7:49 PM
You're right Tito...the police reports in Marshall are practically non~existent. Sheeesh....
-.-
Here's more on the concept of "plain view":
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article...
Ray,
I am with ya on the 4th Amendment thing.
However, police use a line-of-sight justification for illegal things they come upon during a search. Line of sight view of anything the police officer recognizes as being something illegal and criminal gives him/her immediate probable cause to make an arrest on that charge...even if nothing else is found during the search and even though the illicit item in question was never listed on the warrant.
However, I really wonder if our Founding Fathers intended a line-of-sight argument to be used to justify a warrant-less search or an arrest on charges related to a found, illicit item unrelated to anything listed on the warrant.
"...after law enforcement officers armed with a search warrant alleged discovered drug paraphernalia in her home,"
First off, "alleged discovered" is incorrect grammar, but more importantly, what did the search warrant say the police were looking for?
To my understanding, a search warrant should state what is being searched for. What if other "illegal" things are found that are not listed on the search warrant? Is that still a legal search? Did police still have probable cause, even if what was originally looked for was not found?
Wiki is not the most reliable source, but offers some direction:
http://tinyurl.com/ylhyp7m
"Under the Fourth Amendment, searches must be reasonable and specific. This means that a Search Warrant must be specific as to the specified object to be searched for and the place to be searched. Other items, rooms, outbuildings, persons, vehicles, etc. may require additional Search Warrants."
As Thomas Jefferson said, "The price of freedom is eternal vigilance." Although "eternal vigilance" is every citizen's duty, many citizens have largely abdicated that responsibility to the fourth estate (news media). We have become largely dependent on the news media's watchfulness to keep us informed (vigilant). MDN's blog has become a veritable fifth estate in the vital effort to exercise the "eternal vigilance" our free society requires. "We the people" thank MDN, not only for its coverage of the news, but even more so, "We the people" thank MDN for its provision of this open forum to the community, where we may further question events and exercise our individual vigilance.
Another fine day..... in Malta Bend and people wonder why some want the district re-zoned so their children could attend Marshall schools???
JUST SAY NO
No name? Age? Previous crimes?
oooooopppss. DON'T DO DRUGS