A drug case stemming from an arrest made by the Ferguson police officer who killed an unarmed 18-year-old is on hold while a grand jury reviews the shooting. A judge approved prosecutors' request Monday to send the case involving an arrest by officer Darren Wilson to a St. Louis County grand jury. But a spokesman for Prosecuting Attorney Robert McCulloch later said that the case is "on hold" until Wilson's status is resolved.
The suspect's attorney wants the drug distribution charge dismissed because he doesn't expect Wilson, who didn't attend the preliminary hearing, to show up in court.
Wilson received a Ferguson City Council commendation in February for Christopher Brooks' arrest on a felony pot distribution charge. A separate grand jury is reviewing evidence in the August shooting death of Michael Brown.
An attorney for Christopher Brooks alleges Ferguson officer Darren Wilson "roughed up" his client after he refused to hand over the keys to a locked car parked in his grandmother's driveway, where police say they found drug paraphernalia and several ounces of pot.
"Wilson is compromised as a witness," said defense attorney Nick Zotos, who opposed the request by Prosecuting Attorney Robert McCulloch's office to shift the drug case to a panel that meets behind closed doors.
It wasn't clear whether Brooks' made the allegation against Wilson before or after Brown was killed, and the prosecutor's office provided no immediate comment.
James P.Towey, general counsel for the Missouri Fraternal Order of Police and a former general counsel for the St. Louis Police Officers Association, said Wilson may be willing to publicly discuss the case in the future. He declined to provide details of the whereabouts of Wilson, who has gone into hiding since Brown's death.
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