Court dismisses case against Marshall, Sonic
The Western District Court of Missouri dismissed a case against the City of Marshall, Sonic Drive-In, the business manager, police officers and the Marshall police chief that was brought on by a Saline County man.
Harlan Fletcher accused two Marshall police officers of arresting and assaulting him in summer 2017 at a Sonic Drive-In without probable cause. Fletcher sued the parties after a Saline County judge ruled that drugs found in his car during the August 2017 search were obtained illegally. Prosecutors then dropped the drug and resisting arrest charges against him.
The case was moved to federal court in December 2017, and since then, Fletcher would not answer questions pertaining to his drug use on the day of the incident, court documents said. In January, the court gave Fletcher the option to either answer the questions or have the case dismissed with prejudice by Feb. 1, meaning the case would be permanently dismissed.
On Feb. 1, Fletcher’s attorney filed a motion to withdraw from the case after Fletcher fired the attorney, according to court documents. The court would not allow Fletcher time to find a new attorney, saying the result would be the same: Fletcher would need to answer the questions about drug use or have the case dismissed.
Since Fletcher did not state his choice by Feb. 1, the court dismissed the case permanently.
