In the Missouri Court of Appeals Western District STATE OF MISSOURI, ) ) Respondent, ) WD82708 ) v. ) OPINION FILED: August 18, 2020 ) MELISSA ANN GLAZE, ) ) Appellant. ) Appeal from the Circuit Court of Saline County, Missouri The Honorable Dennis A. Rolf, Judge Before Division Four: Cynthia L. Martin, Chief Judge, Presiding, Alok Ahuja, Judge and Thomas N. Chapman, Judge Melissa Glaze ("Glaze") appeals from the trial court's entry of judgment convicting her of possession of a controlled substance in violation of section 579.0151 and of unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia in violation of section 579.074 following a bench trial. Glaze challenges the sufficiency of the evidence to support her convictions. Finding no error, we affirm. 1 All statutory references are to RSMo 2016 as amended through August 10, 2017, unless otherwise indicated. Factual and Procedural Background2 On August 10, 2017, the Missouri State Highway Patrol conducted aerial speed enforcement near the 69 mile marker on Interstate 70 in Saline County, Missouri. At approximately 1:00 P.M., the pilot notified Corporal Dennis Mathes ("Corporal Mathes"), who was staged nearby in his patrol car, that a charcoal Jeep SUV was traveling 84 miles per hour. As Corporal Mathes approached the Jeep SUV, he passed a Honda Accord that was also speeding. Corporal Mathes activated the patrol car's lights and pulled over the Jeep SUV. He exited his patrol car and motioned for the driver of the Honda Accord to pull over. However, the Honda Accord kept going. Corporal Mathes approached the Jeep SUV and told the driver to stay where he was while Corporal Mathes pursued the Honda Accord. While Corporal Mathes was speaking to the driver of the Jeep SUV, he noticed that Glaze was leaning forward in the front passenger seat, looking down toward the passenger floorboard. Corporal Mathes returned to his patrol car to pursue and stop the Honda Accord. While Corporal Mathes was speaking to the driver of the Honda Accord, he heard a radio report that a vehicle pursuit had begun. Corporal Mathes abandoned the stop of the Honda Accord and left to assist in the pursuit, which involved the Jeep SUV. The driver of the Jeep SUV had initially followed Corporal Mathes's instruction to remain stopped on the side of the road. However, after a few minutes, the pilot of the aerial 2 When reviewing a conviction following a bench trial for sufficiency of the evidence, we view the evidence in the light most favorable to the verdicts. State v. Martin, 575 S.W.3d 764, 766 n.1 (Mo. App. W.D. 2019). 2 speed enforcement plane observed the Jeep SUV driving away after making a U-turn through a ditch onto the south outer road. Trooper Nathan Wallace ("Trooper Wallace") stopped the Jeep SUV at a truck stop. Trooper Wallace immediately took the driver and Glaze into custody. Another officer, Corporal Liere Dancy ("Corporal Dancy"), arrived at the scene and placed Glaze in her patrol car. Corporal Dancy asked Glaze for identification. Glaze advised that ...
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