Joplin man's opioid trafficking charge dismissed

Apr. 17—The Jasper County prosecutor's office has dismissed a drug trafficking charge on a Joplin man, citing the unavailability of a key witness for prosecution of the case.

Paul G. Haney, 26, was scheduled for a hearing Tuesday in Jasper County Circuit Court on a count of second-degree trafficking in drugs.

The hearing was precluded by the announcement by the prosecutor's office that the charge was being dismissed because the officer involved no longer works for the Joplin Police Department and is not available for testimony as a witness.

The charge pertained to an arrest Feb. 15, 2022, when the officer stopped a vehicle Haney was driving for an issue with its license plate and detected the odor of marijuana coming from the vehicle. A search of the vehicle turned up 12 oxycodone pills for which the defendant purportedly had no prescription.