Cape chiropractor charged with drug possession

A Cape Girardeau chiropractor faces drug charges after a search of his office turned up hydrocodone pills he was not licensed to prescribe and a straw with methamphetamine residue on it, according to documents filed in connection with the case.

Scott B. Smith, 44, was charged last week with two counts of possession of a controlled substance and one count of possession of drug paraphernalia in connection with the May 13 raid on his property at 2560 Independence St.

Police were investigating possible drug activity by Smith's brother, Randy, who lived on the property, according to a probable-cause statement filed by officer Mike Alford.

Alford described Randy Smith as "a known user and distributor of narcotics" who was on probation for a drug-related crime at the time of the investigation.

Alford was conducting surveillance on the property May 13 when he saw Scott Smith go in and out of the upstairs area, which houses his office, and the garage portion of the building, where Scott Smith's wife later told police Randy Smith lived, Alford wrote.

Just before 6 p.m. that day, officers from the Southeast Missouri Drug Task Force, Missouri State Highway Patrol and Drug Enforcement Administration executed a search warrant on the property, where they found several kinds of drugs, including marijuana, crystal methamphetamine, mushrooms and Xanax; two glass pipes, rolling papers; a digital scale and tray with methamphetamine residue; a marijuana grinder; and "numerous small plastic bags consistent with the sale of ... a controlled substance" in a room used as an office in the garage where Scott Smith's wife told police Randy Smith lived, Alford wrote.

The search also turned up a plastic straw with methamphetamine residue on it in a bathroom in the upstairs office and a plastic bag containing 19 hydrocodone pills in a filing cabinet in Scott Smith's office, Alford wrote.

Another suspect, Michael Strange, was on the property at the time and had methamphetamine on him and Xanax and alprozalam in a bag he owned, Alford wrote.

Scott Smith -- who was not present during the search -- did not have a license to dispense hydrocodone, Alford wrote.

Scott Smith's wife told police she and her husband let Randy Smith and his guests use the bathroom upstairs because there was no bathroom in the garage where he was staying, Alford wrote.

Assistant prosecuting attorney Frank Miller said prosecutors had to wait for a report from the MIssouri State Highway Patrol's crime lab before filing charges.

Such delays are not unusual in cases involving controlled substances, he said.

Scott Smith, who was released on a $20,000 surety bond Wednesday -- the same day he was arrested -- is set for a counsel status hearing March 2.

He could not be reached for comment Tuesday afternoon. An outgoing voicemail message indicated his office is closed on Tuesdays, and he did not reply to an email message seeking comment.

epriddy@semissourian.com

388-3642

Pertinent address:

2560 Independence St., Cape Girardeau, MO