Neosho man charged with DWI after allegedly almost hitting 2 children

A Neosho man has been charged with driving while intoxicated, two counts of endangering the welfare of a child and resisting arrest after allegedly nearing hitting two children with his vehicle Saturday.

An arrest warrant was issued for Cody Dale Cordray (DOB 1997) with bond set at $5,000 cash only.

From the probable cause statement:

On May 9, 2026, at 1328 hours, Troop D Radio dispatched me to a suspected motor vehicle crash, on Palm Road, west of Laredo Lane. The reporting party stated there was a fight in progress with the driver, who was visibly intoxicated. 

At 1344 hours, I arrived on scene. The vehicle, a black Dodge Journey, displaying 2026 Missouri registration parked next to a mobile home at {a Neosho address}. I contacted two witnesses who identified the driver as Cory Dale Cordray. 

Witness 1, told me Cordray was leaving the trailer park in the Dodge Journey, crossed the road, and immediately went into the ditch on the opposite side of the road. {A witness} ran out to the road to help the driver and found Cordray in the driver's seat. {The witness} said Cordray was drunk and smelled like alcohol. {The witness} stated, Cordray drove the Dodge out of the ditch and back towards his residence. 

At this point, two children, Juvenile 1 and Juvenile 2 were running up the driveway. Cordray erratically drove past the two children, who ran into the ditch to avoid being struck. Cordray also swerved to avoid striking Witness 2, who was in her own vehicle. {She} stated she was driving her vehicle up the driveway to help and had to swerve to avoid striking Cordray. 

{The witness} informed me when Cordray returned to his residence, {he} pulled him out of the vehicle and held him down until police arrived.

I contacted Cordray, in front of his residence and immediately detected the overwhelming odor of intoxicants emanating from his breath. He provided me with his Missouri Class A Commercial Driver License. Cordray's speech was slow, thick and slurred. His speech was incoherent and repetitive. Cordray's movements were slow and lethargic. He swayed significantly while standing. He struggled to walk without falling over. Cordray was clearly intoxicated and belligerent.

Due to my observations, I asked Cordray to perform field sobriety testing. He refused to cooperate. At 1350 hours, I placed Cordray under arrest for driving while intoxicated and two counts of endangering the welfare of a child. While in my patrol car, Cordray began tampering with my computer. I removed him from my patrol car and attempted to put him in the back of Deputy M. Hands' patrol car. 

During this interaction, Cordray began actively resisting arrest, refusing to get into the patrol car and resisting our attempt to assist him into the patrol car. At 1418 hours, I read Cordray Missouri Implied Consent. He refused to provide a sample of his breath for chemical testing. At 1419 hours, I read Cordray the Miranda Warning and confirmed he understood his rights.