Pair arrested in Bernie for possessing meth

BLOOMFIELD — Two area residents are to appear in a Stoddard County court this morning following their recent arrest for allegedly possessing methamphetamine found when a Bernie officer responded to a suspicious vehicle.

Weaver

Micah Shane Weaver, 37, of Bernie and Chasity Laann Zimmerman, 35, of Malden were to appear at 9 a.m. for arraignment before Associate Circuit Judge Joe Satterfield on the Class D felony of possession of a controlled substance.

The charge stems from a call reporting a suspicious vehicle parked by the front door of the Town & Country Supermarket at Bernie on Sunday.

Zimmerman

When Sgt. Eddie Mays arrived, according to his probable-cause statements, he found a man, later identified as Weaver, and a woman, later identified as Zimmerman, sitting in the vehicle’s front seat. Both reportedly appeared to be sleeping.

“After repeated attempts to wake both occupants, (Weaver) awoke and appeared to be disoriented and unaware of my presence,” Mays said. “(Zimmerman) did not respond.”

A short time later, Mays said, Weaver acknowledged him and was asked for identification.

Weaver initially was unable to find his wallet and asked to get out of his vehicle in an attempt to find it.

“While (Weaver) was exiting his vehicle, I asked him if he had any illegal substances or weapons in the car other than the knife I observed on the driver’s side dash,” said Mays, who was told there were no drugs in the vehicle, but there were two pistols under the driver’s seat, along with numerous knives throughout the vehicle.

Mays said Weaver was moved to the rear of his vehicle and handcuffed for both his and Mays’ safety.

When Mays asked whether Zimmerman was in medical distress due to her not responding, he said, Weaver reported she was “just really hard to wake up.”

Mays said he subsequently asked why Weaver and Zimmerman were parked in front of the store asleep.

Weaver, Mays said, reported he and Zimmerman, who he identified as his girlfriend, had come to the store to get a soda from one of the outside machines.

“Mr. Weaver stated when they pulled up, Chastity was asleep, and he then dozed off himself,” said Mays, who subsequently was given permission to retrieve the firearms.

Mays reported retrieving an unloaded .45-caliber semiautomatic handgun and a loaded Smith & Wesson .38 special revolver.

After placing both weapons in his patrol car, Mays said, he approached the passenger side door.

Upon looking through what Mays described as a half-lowered window, he said, he saw a small, square clear plastic container laying in plain view in Zimmerman’s lap that held a white crystal-like substance.

“At that point, I opened the door and took possession of the container and its contents,” Mays said.

According to Mays, he repeatedly attempted to wake Zimmerman both verbally and by shaking her person; however, he got no response and requested emergency-medical-services personnel respond to the store.

“While awaiting the arrival of EMS, I conducted a field test of the white, crystal substance,” which indicated tested positive for the “presence of methamphetamine,” Mays said.

At that point, Mays said, Weaver was arrested and placed in his patrol car.

Zimmerman, he said, was taken by ambulance to SoutheastHEALTH at Dexter for treatment.

Mays said he subsequently was given permission to search Weaver’s car and found a round metal container in the vehicle’s center console.

Inside that container, Mays said, was a “very small amount of a green, leafy material, along with a small, round metal grinder.”

A glass pipe, Mays said, also was found in the center console. It reportedly contained a dark leafy residue.

Both Weaver and Zimmerman were booked at the Stoddard County Jail, where they are being held on a $7,500 cash bond.