The driver of a semi tractor-trailer that was involved in the accident last June 6 that killed Paton farmer Pat Fields has been charged in Greene County district court with possession of heroin- first offense (a serious misdemeanor) and possession of drug paraphernalia (a simple misdemeanor).
The charges against Troy Michael Shaw, 26, of Harcourt were filed May 16.
Shaw was eastbound on County Road E-18 near the Boone County line, driving a semi-tractor pulling an empty grain trailer when he struck Fields, 46, from the rear. Field was driving a 1965 Farmall tractor. Both vehicles went toward the north ditch. Fields’ tractor went into the ditch and rolled on him. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
The affidavit in the court information does not allege that Shaw was under the influence of heroin at the time of the crash. Iowa State Patrol Trooper Nicholas Henkle conducted the on-scene investigation. He interviewed Shaw at the scene and received a written statement pertaining to the crash. He then allowed Shaw to leave the scene.
As both vehicles involved were total losses, Henkle arranged for them to be towed from the scene. He and another trooper did the required vehicle inventories and located what appeared to be drug paraphernalia in Shaw’s rig. Items were sent to the DCI lab to be tested for drug residue. A spoon with burn marks on the bottom, a pop can cut in half with burn residue in it, and cotton balls/filters tested positive for heroin residue.
