By Derek Spellman
dspellman@joplinglobe.com
NEOSHO, Mo. — The wife of a Neosho minister who says he has been wrongly accused of drunken driving complained Tuesday night to the City Council about the amount of time it has taken for a lab test on her husband’s urine sample.
Melvin Stapp, 61, the minister of Monark Baptist Church, was scheduled to address the council, but he was called out of town. His wife, Jean Stapp, went before council in his stead.
The council took no action. The mayor previously has noted that the council has no jurisdiction in the matter.
Stapp was charged with driving while intoxicated in July after being stopped by Neosho police. His Breathalyzer reading showed zero, and Stapp previously said he does not drink. Because results of a lab test on a urine sample are still pending, the charge remains in place.
“It’s now been over four months since Melvin submitted a sample for testing,” Jean Stapp told the council. She said the couple are eager for the issue to be resolved.
She asked why it has taken so long for the results to return.
City Attorney Steve Hays, who also is acting as a prosecutor in the case against Melvin Stapp, said he is as eager “to get this case resolved as you are.” He said the sample is being handled by the state’s crime labs, which are saddled with a backlog.
“That is not just a defendant’s frustration,” Hays told Jean Stapp. “That is a frustration with every prosecutor I know.”
Police Chief Dave McCracken told the Globe on Monday that the time taken for Stapp’s sample is “pretty typical,” and that he expected results soon.
Melvin Stapp was pulled over by Neosho police at 1:05 a.m. on July 5 after officers reportedly saw his vehicle traveling over the center yellow line for about half a block on Neosho Boulevard, near Stadium Drive. Stapp said he was headed home after manning his church’s fireworks stand on July 4.
Police said Stapp failed several field sobriety tests at the scene and also had red eyes, which Stapp later said stem from eye problems he has had for years. Stapp was arrested.
A Breathalyzer test administered at the Newton County Jail showed no trace of alcohol, but Stapp also was required to give a urine sample.
Stapp has denied the DWI allegation and the improper-lane-use charge filed against him. A pretrial conference is set for Thursday in Neosho Municipal Court.
Contracts
The Neosho City Council on Tuesday night awarded contracts for construction of taxi lanes at Hugh Robinson Memorial Airport and for construction of sewer lines.
The council awarded a contract of $771,745 to Emery Sapp & Sons Inc., of Springfield, for the taxi lanes. The company submitted the lowest of nine bids. The city’s share of the cost is to be almost $38,600, with the balance to be paid with state grants.
The council awarded a contract of $1.326 million to Rosetta Construction, of Springfield, for new sewer lines that are to be financed via a bond issue approved last year by city voters.
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