The Missouri Supreme Court has reversed a drug conviction in Clay County.  A majority of the judges said the trial court should have required proof the defendant did not know the content or character of the drugs found in his trunk.

A state trooper found ten gallons of PCP in a suitcase in the trunk of a rental vehicle driven by Melvin Stover. He was convicted of first degree drug trafficking.

The judges held there was sufficient evidence to support the conviction, that the trooper properly detained Stover, and that the evidence was properly admitted.

Five judges found fault with the trial judge’s instructions to the jury, because it failed to require the state to prove Stover knew the content or character of the substance in the suitcase.

Judge Zel M. Fischer dissented on that point. He argued that no manifest injustice occurred because it was undisputed that the Stover’s rental vehicle contained 10 gallons of PCP, the man never disputed the content and character of the substance, and the jury found the man knowingly distributed, delivered or sold 90 grams or more of the drug.

The court reversed the trial court’s judgment and remanded the case back to Clay County.