Thursday, January 2, 2025

Area Courthouse, Police, and Crime Reports for January 1st, 2025

On December 7th, KMBC and multiple news outlets along with the Missouri State Highway Patrol reported that Miles Humbird (18), a football player for Archie, passed away in a car wreck near Archie hours after that school won the eight man state football championship over North Shelby. He and another 17 year old teen were thrown from their vehicle after it overturned off a road near Archie. A third teen received minor injuries. All three teens were members of the football team.

On December 18th, Jose Cruz Lopez (31) of Albany pleaded guilty in Gentry County Associate Circuit Court to charges of Speeding (26+ mph over), DWI (Prior), and No Valid License (2nd Offense). He was placed on two years probation and ordered to serve 10 days shock time by Judge Rebecca McGinley. Defendant must complete SATOP by March 18th and be on six months SCRAM monitoring.

On December 23rd, Kristina Rhodus (35) of Bethany pleaded guilty in Harrison County Circuit Court to a charge of Endangering the Welfare of a Child (Felony). She was placed on five years probation and ordered to serve 30 days of shock time with credit for time served to be served on weekends by Judge Steven Hudson.

On December 23rd, Kyle Cline (39) of New Hampton was remanded to the custody of the Sheriff in Harrison County Circuit Court after testing positive for Methamphetamine. He had been free on bond on charges of Possession of Controlled Substance (Felony), Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, No Insurance, and Speeding.

On December 23rd, the Western Missouri US Attorney’s Office announced the indictment of Paul Wyatt (56) of Excelsior Springs by a grand jury alleging Distribution of Child Pornography, Receiving Child Pornography, and Possession of Child Pornography.

On December 26th, Paul Palmer (59) of Maryville was ordered extradited from Nodaway County to Philadelphia (PA) to face multiple theft and forgery charges.

On December 26th, Nodaway County Prosecutor Tina Dieter filed charges against Dillon Denny (33) of Skidmore alleging Possession of Methamphetamine (Felony) and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. Bond was set at $5,000 with the defendant released on his own recognizance.

On December 26th, the US Department of Justice reported that Paul Cromar of Cedar Hills (UT) was sentenced to six years in prison by Judge Howard Nielson for tax evasion charges as well as attempting to forcibly seize a house and land that had been seized under court order to pay the tax debt. From 1999 to 2005, the defendant allegedly failed to file any federal income tax returns or pay any tax. The IRS conducted an audit and assessed him with $703,266.96 in taxes, interest, and penalties. For the next decade, the defendant allegedly failed to make payments towards his delinquent taxes and allegedly obstructed the IRS’s ability to collect his taxes.

In 2019, a judge ordered the sale of his house at auction to help satisfy his obligations, which the IRS says now amounts to over $1 million. The defendant allegedly attempted to stop the sale by filing false documents on the property’s title and with the IRS, attempted to intimidate potential purchasers, and harassed IRS personnel by filing frivolous lawsuits.

Shortly before the sale closed, the defendant allegedly broke into the home and attempted to reclaim it with the help of others. The defendant allegedly fortified it with firearms, sandbags, and wooden boards.

Following incarceration, the defendant must serve three years of supervised release and pay $723,028.65 to the federal government as a condition of his supervised release.

On December 26th, the US Department of Justice announced the indictment of Darryl Jaspering (62) of Warrenton (MO) alleging Transmission of Threatening Communications and Interference with Federally Protected Activities. The indictment alleged that he wrote a message on the NAACP St. Louis officer’s contact page making threats against employees and threatened to use a dangerous weapon.

On December 26th, the US Department of Justice announced that Mohammad Rasekhi, Sheila Busheri, the Southern California Medical Center, and the R&B Medical Group doing business as Universal Diagnostic Laboratories agreed to pay $10 million to resolve allegations that they submitted false claims to Medicare and California’s Medicaid program, known as Medi-Cal. The defendants allegedly paid kickbacks and made self-referrals. The defendants allegedly caused the submission of false claims to Medicare and Medi-Cal by paying kickbacks to marketers to refer beneficiaries to their clinics, and paid kickbacks to third party clinics in the form of above-market rent payments, complimentary and discounted services to clinic staff, and writeoffs of balances owed by patients and clinic staff in exchange for referring Medicare and Medi-Cal beneficiaries to them for lab tests.

On December 26th, the US Department of Homeland Security announced the indictment of Juan Aguirre (49) of Laredo (TX) on charges of Conspiracy to Transport Undocumented Aliens and Transportation of Noncitizens for Financial Gain. The indictment alleges that on December 2nd, law enforcement observed individuals being loaded into a trailer in a warehouse parking lot. After the white truck that was hauling the trailer, authorities conducted a traffic stop. A search resulted in the discovery of 101 non-US citizens locked in the trailer, including 12 unaccompanied children. Two children had difficulty breathing and reported they feared for their lives due to the conditions in the trailer.

On December 26th, the US Department of Homeland Security reported that Jonathan Patrick Maston (59) of Pass Christian (MS) pleaded guilty to Transportation of Child Sexual Abuse Material. In April 2022, the defendant allegedly arrived in Port Canaveral (FL), returning from a cruise. The defendant was allegedly referred to a secondary inspection, and a search of his cellphone revealed the images.

On December 26th, the Department of Homeland Security reported the guilty plea of William Taylor (29) of Chula Vista (CA) to a charge of Transportation of Child Sexual Abuse Material. The defendant had been stopped in Cape Canaveral (FL) following a cruise to the Bahamas. Agents discovered that the defendant allegedly had a cellphone and a card containing videos and images of child sexual abuse. He had been previously convicted in California of Possession of Child Sexual Abuse Material in 2017 and had allegedly failed to inform his registering agency of plans to leave the country as required by law.

On December 26th, the Department of Homeland Security reported that Tonya Romero (37) of Okahumpka (FL) pleaded guilty in federal court to a charge of Possession of Methamphetamine with Intent to Distribute. Law enforcement was conducting a narcotics interdiction operation at the Orlando International Airport. A canine alerted to the presence of drugs in a suitcase that had been checked in Romero’s name. A search revealed the Methamphetamine.

On December 26th, the US Border Patrol reported that on December 17th, it stopped a white van that it believed was a cloned delivery service van at the Campo (CA) border station. A search revealed nine individuals within the vehicle who did not possess the proper documents to be legally present in the US. The driver is being held pending prosecution.

On December 27th, the City of Ravenwood issued a boil order following a water main break and repairs. The order was for 48 hours. The order was lifted on December 29th.

On December 27th, the US Department of Justice announced the guilty plea of Daniel Mitchell to a charge of Conspiracy to Violate Civil Rights. The defendant was a corrections officer at the Federal Correctional Institute Butner Medium II in North Carolina. The victim in question was an inmate housed under the defendant’s supervision. A female corrections officer had been making her rounds in the facility when the victim allegedly performed sexual acts in her presence. Instead of following facility procedures, the defendant allegedly directed other officers to move the victim to a holding cell, where a co-conspirator beat the victim, aggravating a preexisting back condition. The defendant and the co-conspirator allegedly had a meeting prior to this incident and agreed that the co-conspirator would assault the victim as punishment.

Charges listed are merely allegations. Evidence in support of the charges must be presented before a court of competent jurisdiction whose duty it is to determine guilt or innocence. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

No comments: