The Kentucky Supreme Court has thrown out evidence gathered during a traffic stop, ruling that a man who was sentenced to 20 years in prison on drug trafficking and other charges had been improperly detained.
The Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer reports 50-year-old Thomas J. Davis was sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2014 after having been pulled over by McLean County Sheriff's Deputy Tim McCoy, who stopped him in 2010 on suspicion of driving under the influence. McCoy says after Davis failed field sobriety tests, a K-9 sniffed the vehicle, detecting drugs. McCoy found methamphetamine inside the vehicle.
The Supreme Court justices ruled Davis had been lawfully stopped but there had been no valid reasons to conduct the drug searches. The justices ordered a new case hearing to be conducted.