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Convicted triple killer Dallas Delay to remain in Missouri prison (AUDIO)

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A convicted triple killer from southeast Missouri who’s been incarcerated since 1973 will remain in prison indefinitely.

Convicted triple killer Dallas Delay is incarcerated in Potosi (2017 photo courtesy of the Missouri Department of Corrections)

78-year-old Dallas Delay is serving three life sentences for the January 1973 killings of Bank of Grandin president Robert Kitterman, Kitterman’s wife Bertha and their daughter Roberta.

Missouri Department of Corrections (DOC) spokeswoman Karen Pojmann says Delay has chosen to “close” his parole file, which means he won’t be automatically considered for a parole hearing unless he decides the re-open the file.

Carter County Sheriff Richard Stephens is pleased.

“I was very excited for the (Kitterman) family first off by hearing that, so that the family is not going to have to go through the series of hearings and so forth and open up the old wounds per say,” Stephens says.

The victims were tied to trees, before being shot to death.

The “New York Times”, which sent a reporter to southeast Missouri’s Grandin in 1973, says the suspects may have also strapped bank president Robert Kitterman with dynamite.

Sheriff Stephens has urged Missouri’s Probation and Parole Board to deny parole, saying the victims endured “pure evil.”

“I just don’t believe that someone that engaged in that type of crime needs to be on the streets,” says Stephens.

Stephens tells Missourinet the Kitterman family opposes Delay getting out on parole. The Parole Board has previously denied parole for Delay eight times.

Delay will remain in prison, but could ask the Parole Board to re-open the file. Another parole hearing can’t happen unless that occurs.

“If he (Delay) does, then we’re going to do whatever is necessary on our part to make sure that the Parole Board has the wishes of the family and the local authorities and citizens, you know, forefront in their minds,” Stephens says.

Missouri’s Probation and Parole Board had scheduled a parole hearing for Delay for last week, but he declined it.

Delay is currently incarcerated at the maximum-security Potosi Correctional Center in Mineral Point.

Prosecutors also convicted Lloyde Cowin and Jerry Rector of three counts of first degree murder for the 1973 killings.

The DOC tells Missourinet Cowin was sentenced to prison in 1973, and was paroled in September 1995. DOC spokesman David Owen says Cowin returned to prison for a parole violation in 2008, and was paroled again in November 2013. Owen says Cowin, who is now 65, is currently under parole supervision in Springfield.

Rector also went to state prison in 1973. Owen says Rector was paroled in January 1994, and died while on parole supervision in October 2004.

Grandin, a town of about 245 residents, is northwest of Poplar Bluff.

 

Click here to listen to the full five-minute interview between Missourinet news director Brian Hauswirth and Carter County Sheriff Richard Stephens, which was recorded on October 20, 2017:

 

 

Prosecutor: Missouri man “showed no remorse in raping and molesting a little girl”

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A northeast Missouri man has been sentenced to 45 years in prison, after being convicted of raping a child for several years.

Ralph Eugene Harbit

Audrain County Prosecutor Jacob Shellabarger says 62-year-old Ralph Eugene Harbit of Mexico was sentenced by Judge Wesley Clay Dalton on Friday morning.

A jury deliberated about 25 minutes in August, before convicting Harbit of first degree statutory rape and child molestation.

Shellabarger says Harbit raped the girl between 2007 and 2009, adding that the victim was eight to ten years old at the time.

Prosecutor Shellabarger says Harbit “took absolutely no responsibility and showed no remorse in raping and molesting a little girl, and used his position to abuse and harm her family to keep this girl silent.”

Shellabarger has issued a statement, which notes Judge Dalton’s sentence is the maximum allowed under state law.

The statement also reads, in part: “It’s (the sentence) appropriate and warranted for a man who had zero remorse and no insight into how his actions affected this family.”

Under Missouri law, Harbit will also be required to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.

Prosecutor Shellabarger also thanks the Mid-Missouri Chapter of Bikers Against Child Abuse (BACA), praising what he calls BACA’s “steady and long-lasting support for the family involved in this case.”

Shellabarger also praises investigators from the Mexico Public Safety Department.

Missouri woman rattled by virtual kidnapping scheme

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A Missouri woman has fallen victim to a scam artist who tricked her into thinking her daughter had been kidnapped. On the morning of August 15, a man called Nancy McGowan, threatened to cut her daughter’s fingers off and demanded money.

Missouri woman rattled by virtual kidnapping scheme

“He said ‘You cannot get off this phone with me. I can hear everything you’re saying. Do not say anything.’ They had a girl screaming that sounded very much like her,” McGowan tells Missourinet.

Through deceptions and threats, these kidnapping scammers coerce victims to pay a quick ransom before the scheme falls apart. They attempt to keep victims on the phone so they can’t verify their loved ones’ whereabouts or contact law enforcement.

McGowan went to the bank to withdraw money from her account. She wrote a note to the bank teller instructing the woman to say her balance was lower than it actually was. The teller clearly saw how rattled McGowan was and complied. After the transaction was completed, the teller called the police.

“Because I shorted the man, he was so mad. He was swearing. I couldn’t even imagine how vile this person was and the things that he said, the things that he was going to do to my daughter and me,” says McGowan.

He directed McGowan to various places to make wire transfers. By the third wire transfer, McGowan’s family came to her rescue. One of her daughters told McGowan the man is a scam artist and urged her to drive away.

Her GPS signal on her phone was turned off, but McGowan’s son drove around and began looking for her. He found her while the scam artist continued to call McGowan. Her son got into a big shouting match with the scammer.

“The guy ends up calling him and telling him all kinds of ‘We’re going to kill you and your family.’ My son is a pretty big, mature fella. Even his chain was a little rattled but he knew it was false,” says McGowan.

She says it was a relief to see her family and how involved they were throughout the event. She says she couldn’t sleep for several days afterwards.

“That happened on a Tuesday and he was still calling me that Saturday,” says McGowan.

The criminal has not been caught.

“I lost my money. I’m embarrassed but I don’t want anyone else to do that,” says McGowan.

Law enforcement agencies have been aware of virtual kidnapping fraud for at least two decades, but a recent FBI case illustrates how this frightening scam—once limited to Mexico and Southwest border states—has evolved so that U.S. residents anywhere could be potential victims.

In most cases, the FBI says the best course of action is to hang up. If you do engage the caller, do not say your loved one’s name and ask questions only the alleged victim would know. Avoid sharing information about yourself or your family. Listen carefully to the voice of the alleged victim if they speak. Attempt to contact the alleged victim via phone, text, or social media, and request that they call back from their cell phone. To buy time, repeat the caller’s request and tell them you are writing down the demand, or tell the caller you need time to get things moving.

$120 Million Multi-state Settlement with GM over faulty ignition switches includes Missouri

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Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley has announced a $120 million multi-state settlement with General Motors.

The lawsuit from 49 states and the District of Columbia allegef GM knew as early as 2004 that faulty ignition switches posed a safety defect.  In 2014, the company issued seven recalls which affected 9 million vehicles.

Under certain conditions, the switches could move out of the “Run” position to the “Accessory” or “Off” position.  When that happened, drivers experienced a loss of electrical systems, including power steering and power brakes.

If a collision occurred while the ignition switch was in the “Accessory” or “Off” position, the vehicle’s airbags may also have not deployed, increasing the risk of serious injury or death in certain types of crashes.

The states alleged that GM’s continued use of the faulty switches well after it had knowledge the defect violated state consumer protection laws, including Missouri’s Merchandising Practices Act.

In its settlement, GM agreed to make numerous procedural changes and agreed to pay the attorneys general a total of $120 Million, of which Missouri’s share is approximately $2 million.

Other provisions of the settlement require GM to:

​Not represent that a motor vehicle is “safe” unless they have complied with the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety standards applicable to the motor vehicle at issue.

Not represent that certified pre-owned vehicles that GM advertises are safe, have been repaired for safety issues, or have been subject to rigorous inspection, unless such vehicles are not subject to any open recalls relating to safety or have been repaired pursuant to such a recall.

​Instruct its dealers that all applicable recall repairs must be completed before any GM motor vehicle sold in the U.S. and included in a recall is eligible for certification and, if there is a recall on any certified pre-owned vehicle sold in the U.S., the required repair must be completed before the vehicle is delivered to a customer.

Manhunt continues in southeast Missouri for two jail escapees; $1,000 reward is being offered (AUDIO)

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Authorities in southeast Missouri hope a reward will lead to the capture of two jail escapees who are considered armed and dangerous.

Missouri State Highway Patrol Sergeant Clark Parrott says the Pemiscot County Sheriff’s Department is offering a $1,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of escaped inmates William Carter, 27, and Joseph Latamondeer, 41.

“They (Pemiscot County Sheriff’s deputies) feel that it is important to try that avenue and to try to get some of these leads shook loose,” Parrott says.

The two escaped from the Pemiscot County Justice Center in Caruthersville on Sunday.

Carter was in jail awaiting a May 2018 jury trial in New Madrid on two counts of first degree murder, and Latamondeer was scheduled to be sentenced on Monday for a felony domestic assault conviction. Latamondeer pleaded guilty to domestic assault in August. As part of that guilty plea, prosecutors dropped kidnapping and armed criminal action charges against Latamondeer.

The Pemiscot County Circuit Court has issued warrants for the arrests of both escapees.

Meantime, law enforcement officers from across southeast Missouri are wearing bulletproof vests and full tactical gear on this Thursday morning, as they continue their manhunt for the two escapees.

Sergeant Parrott tells Missourinet Carter and Latamondeer should be considered dangerous.

“We feel like they’re armed with possibly a homemade device, not a firearm or anything like that but maybe like a homemade knife,” says Parrott.

Parrott says the two could also be armed with a broom handle, adding that items are apparently missing from a jail utility closet in Caruthersville.

He says authorities have been searching barges, farm fields and the heavily-wooded Black Island Conservation Area, which has four bayous totaling 43 acres of surface water.

The Black Island Conservation Area also has 230 acres of bottomland forest, according to the Missouri Department of Conservation website.

Conservation agents have been assisting the Missouri State Highway Patrol and Pemiscot County Sheriff’s deputies in the search for Carter and Latamondeer. Caruthersville and Kennett Police are also assisting, along with the Missouri Department of Corrections.

Caruthersville is located on the banks of the Mississippi River.

Parrott says residents should lock their doors and vehicles, and should not try to apprehend the suspects on their own.

“We’re looking at two murder counts (for Carter) and you know, armed criminal action and kidnapping and felonious assault,” Parrott says. “These two don’t have anything to lose.”

Cape Girardeau television station KFVS reports Carter is charged with first degree murder for driving over his estranged wife Heather Carter and Aaron Campbell, who were high school sweethearts.

The June 2016 incident happened in Kennett, which is in nearby Dunklin County.

In addition to searching by land, air and boat, Parrott says Missouri authorities have also alerted Tennessee, Illinois, Kentucky and Arkansas officials.

Parrott encourages anyone with information to call the Pemiscot County Sheriff’s Department at (573) 333-4101 or the Missouri State Highway Patrol at (573) 840-9500.

 

Click here to listen to the full interview between Missourinet’s Brian Hauswirth and Missouri State Highway Patrol Sergeant Clark Parrott, which was recorded on October 18, 2017:

 

Man admits phoning in multiple bomb threats to Missouri courthouse

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An Arkansas man is heading to federal prison, for making several bomb threats to the Cedar County Courthouse in southwest Missouri’s Stockton.

Prosecutors say 36-year-old Phillip Robison Jr. has been sentenced to two years and six months in federal prison, without parole.

Robison admits he made three separate bomb threats in January 2016, because he wanted his court hearing involving a probation violation to be canceled.

Robison, who has a prior conviction for distribution of illegal drugs, was worried about going to Missouri state prison for a 120-day “shock time” sentence.

The courthouse in Stockton had to be evacuated three different times, because of the calls.

Federal prosecutors say Robison admitted to deputies that he made the calls, because he wanted to avoid returning to jail.

Robison also reportedly told the deputies that there were never any bombs.

The case was investigated by the Cedar County Sheriff’s Department and the FBI.

Missouri victims, pimps captured in trafficking crackdown

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One female teenage victim and four traffickers have been captured in the St. Louis area as part of a nationwide sex trafficking sting. In the Kansas City area, two underage victims have been recovered. Nationally, 84 minors have been recovered and 120 traffickers have been arrested as part of Operation Cross Country XI that ran from October 12-15.

Missouri victims, pimps captured in trafficking crackdown

This is the 11th iteration of the FBI-led Operation Cross Country (OCC), which involved 55 FBI field offices and 78 state and local task forces, consisting of hundreds of law enforcement partners. This year’s coordinated operations took place with several international partners, including Canada, the United Kingdom, Thailand, Cambodia, and the Philippines.

“We at the FBI have no greater mission than to protect our nation’s children from harm. Unfortunately, the number of traffickers arrested—and the number of children recovered—reinforces why we need to continue to do this important work,” said FBI Director Christopher Wray. “This operation isn’t just about taking traffickers off the street. It’s about making sure we offer help and a way out to these young victims who find themselves caught in a vicious cycle of abuse.”

“While Operation Cross Country is a focused and coordinated effort nationwide, our Child Exploitation Task Force, which includes local and state law enforcement partners, work tirelessly year round to rescue children from sex trafficking,” said Zachary Lowe, Acting Special Agent in Charge of FBI St. Louis.

As part of Operation Cross Country XI, FBI agents and task force officers staged operations in hotels, casinos, and truck stops, as well as on street corners and internet websites. The youngest victim recovered during this year’s operation was 3 months old, and the average age of victims recovered during the operation was 15 years old.

Operation Cross Country XI is part of the FBI’s Innocence Lost National Initiative, which began in 2003 and has yielded more than 6,500 child identifications and locations.

Former Southeast Missouri Nursing Home Owner Sentenced to Prison for Embezzling $667,000

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The former CEO of Benchmark Healthcare in southeast Missouri’s Festus is heading to federal prison, for embezzling $667,000 in Medicaid funds.

Johnnie Mac Sells was sentenced on Friday to pay back the money he pocketed, and also to serve 41 months in prison, the maximum sentence allowed under federal law.

Sells admitted to spending $185,000 of the Medicaid funds at gentlemen’s clubs, $15,000 on pet care, $4,500 at casinos and $12,000 in country club fees between 2014-15.

Due to Sells embezzlement, Benchmark went without money to spend on food and other supplies for their residents. The meals residents were given included a clear bowl of broth and a cookie.

The facility lost Medicare and Medicaid eligibility, and shut down in 2016.  Cells attorney requested a lesser sentence, but it was denied.

Matt Baer of Missourinet affiliate KJFF contributed this report

Missouri House Dem Leader: Greitens & GOP knew far in advance new law would cause loss of federal funds

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Missouri House Minority Floor Leader Gail McCann Beatty, D-Kansas City, contends that Republican Eric Governor Greitens and GOP leadership were aware well ahead of time that federal funds would be withheld if a bill in the legislature became law.

Missouri House Minority Leader Gail McCann Beatty, D-Kansas City

Senate Bill 43, which Greitens signed June 30, elevates the standard for proving employment discrimination.  Under the measure, those who bring lawsuits must demonstrate that bias was the chief motive for a discriminatory act, where previously the bias needed to simply be a contributing factor.

Beatty’s office disclosed last Thursday letters dated July 14th and August 2nd that were sent to Missouri Commission on Human Rights Executive Director Alisa Warren from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

The two pieces of correspondence stated that Missouri would be suspended from the Fair Housing Assistance Program if state law didn’t comply with protections offered under the federal Fair Housing Act.

McCann Beatty’s office has now released a letter to Missourinet dated February 6th, roughly three-and-a-half months before Senate Bill 43 passed the legislature, which informs Warren of the pending legislation’s failure to comply with federal law.

Staff members in Beatty’s office say they were given a copy of the February letter sometime during the legislative session by Democratic Representative Bruce Franks of St. Louis.

They said that at the time they weren’t surprised by the letter’s warning, given that a statement included with the bill from the Missouri Labor Department noted the state could lose funding from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) or HUD.

The department said Missouri could lose the ability to continue contracting with the EEOC for $781,900 and/or HUD for $420,000.  The three letters sent to state Human Rights Director Warren were from HUD.

McCann Beatty has concluded that Greitens and Republican leadership in the legislature didn’t think the issue of lost federal funding would be explored.

“I think they were expecting that this wouldn’t become public”, said McCann Beatty.  “Hopefully, now that it is, they will have a change of heart.  So far, what I’ve heard is ‘We simply didn’t know’.  But clearly we have a trail that shows that they did.”

Governor Greitens’ office did not respond to a request for comment from Missourinet.  McCann Beatty said the governor’s office was not talking to her.  “I’ve had no conversation with the governor’s office at all.  The last I heard his spokesperson basically said ‘no comment’.”

The July letter from HUD asserts that Missouri has until March 1st, 2018 to bring the state law in compliance with the Fair Housing Act in order for funding of the Fair Housing Assistance Program to continue.

McCann Beatty says lawmakers will be hard pressed to fix the law in a short period of time when they reassemble for the next legislative session, which begins on January 3rd.

“I am hopeful that the leadership on the Republican side sees this as important enough that we need to make this a priority, and deal with this as probably the first thing we deal with when we come back in session in January.”

The July letter from HUD further asserts that the federal agency will not refer any discrimination complaints to the state, and instructs the state Human Rights Commission to advise those filing fair housing complaints that they can do so with HUD.

State House Democrat Steven Roberts of St. Louis issued a statement Monday criticizing the law (Senate Bill 43).  “It’s a poor sign when our legislature is more worried about the rights of oppressors rather than the oppressed”, said Roberts.  “I have been adamantly opposed to SB 43 from its inception.  At every town hall and community meeting I have attended, I have spoken out against this neo-Jim Crow law. Legislation like SB 43 is horrible for Missouri it shows ignorance and indifference.”

McCann Beatty said there was an element of cynicism in the actions of Republican lawmakers, given that, as she contends, they knew Senate Bill 43 would not conform to federal requirements.

The state Human Rights Commission has adjusted the possible loss of federal money due to the law from $420,000 to between $400,000 and $500,000.

In addition to requiring bias to be proven as the chief motive for a discriminatory act, HUD identified several other violations of the Fair Housing Act in the law.

The statute omits owners and landlords as parties that can be challenged for being discriminatory.  It also imposes caps on actual and punitive damages, fails to protect victims of housing discrimination from retaliation and requires victims to file a complaint with the state before pursuing civil lawsuit.

Missouri business groups had championed Senate Bill 43 as bringing state statute in line federal discrimination laws.  So far, no correspondence from a federal agency has surfaced regarding it violating anything other than to the Fair Housing Act.

Missouri lawmaker Warren Love reacts to House Ethics Committee (AUDIO)

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A western Missouri lawmaker is apologizing again for a controversial August Facebook post.

State Rep. Warren Love speaks on the Missouri House floor in April 2017 (photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

The Missouri House Ethics Committee will hold a November preliminary hearing involving State Rep. Warren Love, R-Osceola.

Representative Love wrote on Facebook in August that he hoped that the vandals of the General Sterling Price Confederate statue at the Springfield National Cemetery would be “hung from a tall tree with a long rope.”

“I probably am the only legislator/lawmaker in the state of Missouri that called that act of vandalism as a crime,” Love says. “However, I did it in a very crude way, and I have since apologized.”

Love has apologized for his words, saying he does not advocate violence toward the vandal.

The Osceola Republican says voters in his district have remained supportive.

“I know this: my constituents in my (125th) district and all over southwest Missouri are behind me,” says Love. “They believe it was an act of vandalism, especially the veterans.”

Love, who was first elected to the House in 2010, is in his third term. He represents Benton, Cedar, Hickory and St. Clair counties.

Love has 20 days to respond to the Missouri House Ethics Committee regarding their upcoming hearing.

House Minority Leader Gail McCann Beatty, D-Kansas City, delivered an emotional House floor speech during the September veto session in Jefferson City. She blasted Love’s post and wrote a letter to him, saying that he had “forfeited the right to hold elected office.”

Beatty testified Monday in the House Ethics Committee’s closed session. Afterward, Beatty told the Capitol Press Corps that she’s disappointed and frustrated with Love’s Facebook post.

Leader Beatty added that she would speak to Love, if he reaches out to her.

Representative Love tells Missourinet that he would tell Beatty he is sorry and that he cannot undo the words, adding that he has also apologized to members of Missouri’s Legislative Black Caucus.

He also wants Beatty to support his proposed Missouri Heritage Protection Act.

“I would turn around and ask her (Beatty) if she believes that it is a crime to desecrate and vandalize an object of remembrance, such as a tombstone or a monument,” Love says.

Love describes himself as a “passionate historian”. He notes his father served in the Battle of the Bulge in World War II, and that his 34-year-old son has served in the U.S. military in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Love has filed the Missouri Heritage Protection Act for two straight years, and says he could never get a hearing from House GOP leaders.

The proposed legislation would prohibit any agency or political subdivision from relocating, renaming or removing any state historic military monument and memorial.

During a phone interview with Missourinet Monday evening, Love says he warned Missouri Governor Eric Greitens’ (R) office in August that the Confederate monument at the Springfield National Cemetery could be targeted by vandals.

The Springfield National Cemetery is overseen by the National Cemetery Administration, which is part of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

The VA website says the Springfield National Cemetery is located on what was once the Kickapoo Prairie, and that “many men who died” at the Battle of Wilson Creek during the Civil War are buried there.

The VA website notes that there are several monuments and memorials at the Springfield National Cemetery, including the Sterling Price monument, which was dedicated in August 1901. The website also says a Union Memorial known as the T.J. Bailey monument is located there, along with a marble pillar in memory of Union Brig. Gen. Nathaniel Lyon. The website also says the Battle of Wilson Creek Memorial is located at the cemetery, which “commemorates 501 Confederate soldiers who died of wounds or sickness at the Battles of Wilson Creek and Springfield.” A monument to honor Pearl Harbor survivors was dedicated in 1992.

Love says his bill would protect all monuments and memorials, including the French-Indian War, the War of 1812, the Civil War, Spanish-American War and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

 

Click here to listen to the full 11-minute interview between Missourinet’s Brian Hauswirth and State Rep. Warren Love, which was recorded on October 16, 2017: