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Ava Man Found Guilty of Meth Possession

On Monday, July 23, Jeffrey Schmidt, 49, of Ava, was found guilty of possession of methamphetamine. The case was heard by Circuit Judge John Moody in a Douglas County Circuit Court bench trial.
According to the police reports, officers pulled over a vehicle leaving a trailer court because the police knew the driver was wanted by Wright County on an active felony warrant. As the stop was being executed, the passenger allegedly threw out of the passenger window a small plastic bag containing a white powder substance, which was later determined by the Missouri Highway Patrol lab to be a chemical compound commonly known as methamphetamine.
In making his decision, Circuit Judge John Moody stated that the defendant did posses meth while in the act of throwing the plastic bag out of the window; and found Schmidt guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
There was also a metal smoking device and marijuana found in the vehicle. Schmidt was acquitted of the possession of those items.
Judge Moody ordered a sentencing assessment report to be completed by the Missouri State Probation and Parole and set sentencing for Oct. 2.
The state was represented by Douglas County Prosecuting Attorney Roger Wall and the defendant was represented by Attorney Linda McKinney, of Gainesville.