On March 16, 2024, Officer Blake Sanchez was on patrol and identified William Earl Troester Jr., who has active felony warrants out of Labette County, in the 1300 block of Grand in Forest Park.

When Troester seen Officer Sanchez, he walked away from the vehicle that he was previously working on. Officer Sanchez stopped Troester and was able to place him in custody without incident. Labette County Sheriff K9 Tim Gilliland came to the area and conducted an open-air sniff on the vehicle in question. The K9 indicated the presence of narcotics and a search of the vehicle ensued. During the search officers located approximately 75 grams of methamphetamines and 20 Xanax pills. There were also digital scales and more paraphernalia discovered.

Troester was arrested and transported to the Parsons Police Lockup. The following charges have been sent to the Labette County Attorney's Office for review, Distributions of Narcotics, Possession of a Controlled Substance, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia and Possession of Narcotics. He is also being held on a Labette County Warrant for Failure to Appear.

Parsons Patrol Lieutenant Kyle Wiford said, "this is a prime example of a patrol driven officer doing good work and being observant to his surroundings. I applaud Officer Sanchez for his hard work and dedication to his job. With this arrest and drug seizure the Parsons Police have taken approximately 9 ounces of methamphetamines off the street in the last week. That is a huge hit to the pockets of those who are dealing death to our community."

This continues to be an on-going investigation and citizens are encouraged to "See It, Hear It, Report It." All suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. If anyone has any further information on this incident or any other criminal activity, please contact the Parsons Police Department at 421-7060 or call the Tip Line at 421-7057 or email at tips@parsonspd.com.

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