Noel deputy charged with felony perjury
A now-Senior Deputy Marshall in Noel, Missouri, is accused of falsifying a probable cause statement after a fatal hit and run on November 2nd.
Court documents allege that Rhonda Wise committed perjury when she filled out a probable cause statement related to the death of 59-year-old Michael Pruden.
Pruden was reportedly walking near South Kings Highway and Hall Ridge Road when he was struck and left in the roadway.
Later that month, authorities then charged 53-year-old Gloria Trejo, of Noel, with leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death.
But then in December, charges against Trejo were dropped.
McDonald County Prosecuting Attorney Maleia Chaney even released a special statement about the case on December 13:
“The Prosecutor’s office reviewed and filed charges against a single defendant, upon receipt of a probably cause statement from a Noel officer. However, within the following week our office received additional follow-up on the investigation which showed that the officer had made a false statement in the probable cause affidavit which would likely affect the probable cause affidavit which would likely affect the case outcome.”
That false information reportedly concerned specifics about a shard of headlight lens that was found at the scene that they used to identify Trejo’s vehicle.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol’s investigation found inconsistencies with how Deputy Wise came to the conclusion that she did.
The trooper investigating the case said no specifics to Trejo’s vehicle were found in the Google search that Wise conducted using the piece of the lens from the scene.