Three residents of Joplin facing felony drug cases

Two vehicle stops over the weekend and a separate incident Tuesday morning at a home have led to felony drug charges being filed against three people.

Police officers went at 1:27 a.m. Tuesday to 916 W. Sixth St. while attempting to recover a stolen vehicle, said Cpl. Chuck Niess of the Joplin Police Department. Niess said an officer who went to the door of the home to talk to an occupant allegedly detected a strong chemical odor associated with the manufacturing of methamphetamine.

The officer allegedly spotted several empty packages of cold medicine in the house, along with coffee filters and Pyrex bowls. A search reportedly turned up some red phosphorus, several bottles of liquids and a bag containing a powder that tested positive for meth, Niess said.

Terry Duvall, 46, was arrested and was charged later in the day by the county prosecutor’s office with felony possession of meth.

Jessica L. Ford, 23, 2121 S. McCoy Ave., was charged with felony possession of meth, obstruction and misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia after a traffic stop Friday night at Fourth Street and Brownell Avenue.

Niess said an officer stopped to check out a vehicle parked on the wrong side of the road and recognized a female passenger who got out of the vehicle as someone with outstanding warrants. Ford was arrested on three warrants from Joplin, three from Seneca and one from Jasper County, Niess said.

Niess said several bags containing meth allegedly were found on the floorboards of the vehicle.

An officer stopped another vehicle at 1:30 a.m. Sunday at 31st Street and Wall Avenue for having no taillight, and wound up arresting Tedra L. Nichols, 19, 126 S. Pearl Ave., on charges of felony possession of meth and misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia.

A drug-sniffing dog alerted on the vehicle, and a glass pipe was found inside the car, Niess said. A bag containing meth allegedly was found in Nichols’ clothing at the Joplin City Jail, he said.