What started out as a normal, routine day for the Sutton Police force, officer Edgar Sandoval, and Chief of Police, Tracey Landenberger quickly had a change of course to their day. At 10:30 a.m., Wednesday, Oct. 18, officer Sandoval received orders from the Clay County Sheriff’s office that a protection order needed to be served on one Joseph P. Weaver, at his residence, located at 304 West Ash Street in Sutton.
That protection order, however, by late afternoon, turned into far more than just a protection order, to be served by Sandoval, it escalated into a bevy of charges that were filed against Weaver, out of Clay County alone.
At approximately 4:30 p.m., Sandoval and a host of officers from the Sutton Police Department, the Clay County Sheriff’s Department and the Fillmore County Sheriff’s Department converged on the home on West Ash Street to serve the protection order against Weaver.
For a long period of time, Weaver didn’t respond to Sandoval’s commands, related to the protection order, but later would respond to the Sutton officer’s commands.
According to documentation received by the Clay County News from the Sutton Police Department, Fillmore County’s Sheriff’s Department obtained a search warrant out of Fillmore County related to an investigation into Weaver for mail theft within the Fillmore County jurisdiction.
It was noted that Weaver was connected to mail theft in Geneva and Fairmont, with possible connections to mail theft in the Trumbull and Henderson post offices, as well.
Charges against Weaver, filed by Sandoval included:
• Possession with the intent to distribute a controlled substance, a felony of the first degree;
• Possession of stolen property, a misdemeanor- 2 charge;
• Obstruction of government operations, a misdemeanor-1 charge;
• Possession of marijuana, less than one ounce; and
• Possession of drug paraphernalia. On the scene, after the Fillmore County order was served, Sandoval noted in his report that “a white crystalline substance was located in the kitchen area of the home.”This substance was This substance was noted to be 15.97 grams of methamphetamine, which prompted Chief Landenberger to obtain a search warrant for the search of illicit narcotics in the home.
After the search warrant was issued, Sandoval reported that 6.6 grams of marijuana was found. Officers also located a digital scale with white residue on it, two glass bulbous pipes, also with white residue on them were found, as well as an assortment of small plastic self-seal bags, along with a metal grinder with “marijuana shake”being located.
Also located were several CPI t-shirts that were reported stolen to the Clay County Sheriff’s office, a reported value of $350 was placed on the discovered shirts.
Once Weaver was removed from the home, Officer Sandoval advised Weaver of his Miranda warnings, of which Weaver said he understood his rights and waived them to speak to Sandoval.
In the affidavit for detention, filed by Sandoval, Weaver told the Sutton officer that he, Weaver, fully admitted that the meth found in the home he brought with him from California, and also admitted that the small amount of marijuana found was also his, at which time Weaver was officially arrested and booked into the Clay County Detention Center in Clay Center.
