DRUGS CLOUD DWI CASE; ACCUSED ACQUITTED

JACKSON, Mo. -- A 29-year-old Delta, Mo., man was acquitted Tuesday of driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol, although a jury found him guilty of possession of methamphetamine.

Travis Keesee was found guilty of unlawful use of a weapon and of carrying a plastic bag containing a small amount of methamphetamine powder, said Ian Sutherland, assistant prosecutor for Cape Girardeau County.

Since the jury did not have an option to convict Keesee for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs separately, it chose to acquit Keesee, Sutherland said.

"We've had several DWI cases where we thought drugs were a factor," he said. "Without having a doctor testify to the symptoms, it's hard to prove."

The jury recommended six months in jail on the meth charge and three months in jail for Keesee having a switchblade in his pocket.

Defense Attorney Stephen Wilson said his client was upset about the guilty decision for meth possession.

"He has maintained adamantly that it was not his drugs," Wilson said.

Keesee had been driving his girlfriend's car on Nov. 4 last year on Highway 25 when a Cape Girardeau County sheriff's deputy observed that he had not dimmed his headlights. After Keesee passed deputy Ron Trentham with his lights on high beam, he was stopped.

Keesee became tangled in his seat belt as he tried to get out of the car, Trentham said. As the deputy talked with him, he noticed Keesee's bloodshot eyes, slurred speech and an odor of alcohol, he said.

Trentham also noticed that while Keesee spoke with him, his teeth were clenched and his hands tightened into fists, then relaxed. These were signs that Keesee was intoxicated by something more than alcohol, the deputy testified.

After searching Keesee and finding the knife in his pocket, Trentham handcuffed him and placed him in the back of his patrol car.

While driving to the sheriff's department, Trentham said Keesee laid on his left side and reached toward his front pocket.

A search of the patrol car later found a bag of meth stuffed under the seat cushion.

Wilson maintained that the meth had been left in the patrol car from an earlier arrest because it was not found during the search before Keesee was arrested.