Press Release
On 7/12/2017, Stephen Ray Carson was convicted of Tampering with Evidence and Possession of Methamphetamine. The State established that on December 21, 2016, Officer Oquendo from the Springfield Police Department performed a traffic stop on a vehicle that ran a stop sign at Bob Little Road and 11th Street. During the stop, Officer Oquendo came into contact with the Defendant, who was a passenger in the vehicle. The occupants were detained due to identification and driver’s license issues. Officer Oquendo also noticed open containers of alcohol within the vehicle and began to write citations. During the stop, the Defendant attempted to empty his pockets of pills while the officers were questioning the other occupants of the vehicle. The Defendant, however, was caught on dash cam footage emptying his pockets and stomping on the pills. Deputy Bentley with the Bay County Sheriff’s Office noticed the crushed pills on the ground and notified Oquendo. The Defendant was then arrested and searched. A search of Carson’s pockets revealed a small bag of methamphetamine. A Bay County jury convicted the Defendant in just 4 minutes.
This case was tried by Assistant State Attorney Peter Overstreet and Assistant State Attorney Calie Rivera. Circuit Judge Brantley Clark sentenced the Defendant to 18 Months in the Department of Corrections.
Please contact Chief Assistant Attorney Larry Basford at 850-819-6985 with any questions.