McDonald County Prosecutor - "Noel police officer made false statement" in hit-and-run case

NOEL, Mo. - McDonald County prosecutor, Melia Cheney, released a statement on Friday saying an arresting officer lied on an arrest affidavit in a fatal hit-and-run case in Noel.

The investigation surrounds an incident on November 2, when authorities found the body of Michael Pruden near the intersection of South Kings Highway and Hall Ridge Road on the outskirts of Noel.

Gloria Trejo, 53, was arrested.

Right before Thanksgiving, the McDonald County Prosecutor's Office dropped "leaving the scene of a deadly crash" charges against Trejo.

Tonight, she explained why.

In a social media post on December 13 around 7:15 p.m. on the McDonald County Sheriff's Facebook page, prosecutors said, "(O)ur 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 case outcome."

The post said that the prosecutors and other law enforcement have met with the officer and suggested further investigation and evidence that would be needed for us to pursue charges.

"Once we receive that information, we hope to be able to file charges related to this incident," the post stated.

There was no information about what, if any, disciplinary action the officer received for falsifying his report.