On March 3, 2026, Officer Birkner was on routine patrol near the intersection of Ferry Steet and Benton Street, in the city of Anoka, Anoka County, Minnesota. He noticed a vehicle bearing MN 2KJ237 traveling north on Ferry. While running a routine check on the plate on the vehicle he noted that the vehicle was registered to Ryan Thomas Barber [DOB REDACTED]. Mr. Barber’s Driving status was revoked. He stopped the vehicle at the above referenced intersection and made contact with the driver, Mr. Barber.
While his probationary Officer, Officer Armstrong, made contact with the front seat passenger Thomas Elton Shows, III [DOB REDACTED], hereinafter the Defendant. While speaking with the Defendant, Officer Armstrong, noted that he appeared unusually nervous. His breathing was shaking, and his stomach could been seen shaking significantly. His eyes would dart from left to right and not consistently making eye contact with the officer. He also noted that the rear seat passenger would not look at the officer and continued to look toward the interior of the vehicle.
The Defendant’s eyes appeared bloodshot and watery and when Officer Armstrong shone a flashlight into the vehicle, he noted that the Defendant’s pupils were constricted and remained constricted despite the additional light. After verifying that the driver was in fact revoked, Officer Birkner returned to the vehicle to verify proper insurance on the vehicle and asked the Driver how he knew the Defendant. He replied that he knew him from his past drug using days. Based on the appearance of all of the passengers, Officers requested a K- 9 to the stop.
The k-9 alerted on the vehicle. Officer spoke with the driver who told them that the Defendant “crotched” a large quantity of methamphetamine when the vehicle was stopped. This was corroborated by the fact that when the Defendant was removed from the car and pat searched for weapons Officers felt a large plastic baggie in his front pocket that felt like it contained rocks. The defendant was arrested and searched. Police found a large baggie in his pocket that was field test positive for the presence of methamphetamine and weighed 112.4 grams.
The substance was later sent to the Midwest Regional forensics laboratory and was confirmed to be methamphetamine and weighed 109 grams without packaging. The Defendant was previously convicted of a controlled substance crime in the second degree, on July 3, 2024. See Hennepin County District Court file number 27-CR-23-13945.
