Charge Dropped in Gas-Passing Case

SOUTH CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- A battery charge has been dropped against a West Virginia man who had been accused of passing gas and fanning it toward a South Charleston patrolman. 

The Kanawha County prosecutor's office requested that the charge be dropped against 34-year-old Jose Cruz of Clarksburg. Mary Frampton, an assistant to Magistrate Jack Pauley, said Thursday the magistrate signed a motion to dismiss the charge. 

A call to the prosecutor wasn't immediately returned. 

Cruz, who was arrested Tuesday, still faces driving under the influence and other charges.

According to a criminal complaint, Cruz passed gas and made a fanning motion toward Patrolman T.E. Parsons after being taken the police station for a breathalyzer test. 

Cruz acknowledged passing gas, but said he didn't move his chair toward the officer nor aim gas at the patrolman. He said he had an upset stomach at the time, but police denied his request to go to the bathroom when he first arrived at the station. 

"I couldn't hold it no more," he said. 

He also denied being drunk and uncooperative as the police complaint alleged. He added he was upset at being prepared for a breathalyzer test while having an asthma attack. The police statement said he later resisted being secured for a trip to a hospital that he requested for asthma treatment. 

Cruz said the officers thought the gas incident was funny when it happened and laughed about it with him. 

"This is ridiculous," he said. "I could be facing time."