Springfield man sentenced to six years on child pornography charges

(From the U. S. Attorney for the Western District of Missouri)

A Springfield, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for receiving and distributing child pornography over the Internet.

Jarod “Bull” Michel, 33, of Springfield, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Stephen R. Bough to six years in federal prison without parole. The court also ordered Michel to pay a $5,000 fine and forfeit to the government a laptop computer that was used to commit the offense.

On June 5, 2015, Michel pleaded guilty to receiving and distributing child pornography over the Internet between July 18, 2013, and May 20, 2014.

According to court documents, Michel’s computer was identified by two separate law enforcement agencies conducting independent undercover investigations concerning the distribution of child pornography using peer-to-peer file-sharing software. Investigators downloaded several videos of child pornography that were being shared over the Internet by Michel’s computer. Law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at Michel’s residence and seized his laptop computer, which contained 21 videos of child pornography that depicted children as young as two years of age engaged in a variety of sexual acts with adults.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney James J. Kelleher. It was investigated by the FBI.

Marionville man sentenced to 15 years on child pornography charge

(From the U. S. Attorney for the Western District of Missouri)

A Marionville, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for child sexual exploitation.

Darren Eugene Schaefer, 37, of Marionville, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool to 15 years in federal prison without parole. The court also sentenced Schaefer to a life term of supervised release following incarceration.

On June 17, 2015, Schaefer pleaded guilty to using the Internet and cell phone to attempt to entice a minor to engage in illicit sexual activity.

According to court documents, a task force officer with the Southwest Missouri Cybercrimes Task Force investigated a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in May 2014 that Schaefer was contacting underage females on the social networking site MeetMe. Schaefer was asking underage females if they wanted to meet for sexual acts. Schaefer sent messages indicating that he was interested in sexual contact with seven underage females. After contacting the females using the instant message feature on MeetMe, Schaefer would attempt to move the conversations to cell phone text messages.

During the on-line communications between Schaefer and the underage female victims, Schaefer admitted to the victims that he was 35 years old, and stated that he preferred younger females. In one instance, one of the victims asked Schaefer why he posted his age on MeetMe as 14 years old if he was really 35. Schaefer replied that was the only way he could see underage females on this Web site and communicate with them. One victim asked him if he knew he could get in trouble for what he was doing. He replied he knew he could get in trouble but hoped he would not.

A federal search warrant was executed at Schaefer’s residence on June 17, 2014. Schaefer told officers that he talked to hundreds of girls on various social networking Web sites and that he had contacted underage girls several other times using MeetMe. Schaefer also admitted to meeting at least three 16-year-old girls for sexual intercourse over a 10-year period. He reported that he had met all three of them from social networking sites on the Internet. He met two of the girls in Nixa and one at Hood's Truck Stop on 1-44.

Officers seized two laptop computers, two external hard drives and Schaefer’s cell phone, all of which have been forfeited to the government. More than 200 images of child pornography and a total of 474 images of child erotica were located on multiple electronic media devices.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ami Harshad Miller. It was investigated by the Southwest Missouri Cybercrimes Task Force, Immigration and Custom Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the FBI.

Seventy-six year old pleads guilty to armed bank robbery

(From the U. S. Attorney for the Western District of Missouri)

A Hollister, Mo., man pleaded guilty in federal court today to the armed robbery of Central Bank in Branson, Mo.

Joseph E. Cyrus, 76, of Hollister, pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge David P. Rush to stealing $30,946 from Central Bank, 1115 James Epps Road in Branson on Oct. 16, 2015.

According to court documents, Cyrus entered the bank at approximately 9 a.m. and was wearing a blue ski mask and rubber gloves. He was carrying a black semi-automatic pistol. Cyrus approached the teller counter, pointed the pistol at the tellers, and said, “This is a robbery.”

Cyrus demanded that all of the bank’s employees who were positioned behind the teller counter come out where he could see them. He demanded that the tellers give him cash from their teller drawers, and at one point told one of the tellers that he would shoot her in the knee.

Cyrus handed one of the bank employees a blue reusable shopping bag and they put the cash in the bag. Cyrus ordered the employees and customers in the lobby to get down on the ground, then he left the bank and walked to a white Ford Ranger pickup truck that was parked in the parking lot across the street from the bank.

Surveillance photos depict the truck with an unknown state’s license plate, which had been attached to the vehicle backwards (with the face of the plate against the truck’s bumper). Four of the six numbers/letters were clearly visible. Branson police dispatchers broadcast the description of the robber and the vehicle to area law enforcement agencies. An off-duty Branson police officer heard the description of the truck and recalled having seen a similar vehicle parked near the Yacht Club Mobile Home Park in Hollister. The officer was familiar with the truck because it had a “for sale” sign in it and he previously called the listed phone number to inquire about purchasing the truck.

At about noon on the day of the robbery, the officer drove to the parking lot and saw the truck parked in the lot. The truck had a West Virginia license plate and was registered to Cyrus. The manager of the mobile home park told the officer that Cyrus had paid his rent and checked out at approximately 11 a.m. the same day. Cyrus left the mobile home park in another vehicle and left the pickup in the parking lot, hoping that it would sell.

A federal agent made a ruse call to the telephone number listed on the “for sale” sign in the truck. The call went to voice mail, and the agent left a message indicating that he was interested in purchasing the truck. The agent was able to contact Cyrus through an intermediary who called Cyrus and told him he had a potential buyer for the truck. The agent spoke to Cyrus, posing as the potential buyer. Cyrus later called the agent back and told him that he was not returning to Hollister but that the agent could arrange to wire the money to purchase the truck.

On Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2015, Cyrus turned himself in at the Branson Police Department.

Under federal statutes, Cyrus is subject to a sentence of up to 20 years in federal prison without parole, plus a fine up to $250,000. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney James J. Kelleher. It was investigated by the FBI, the Branson, Mo., Police Department and the Hollister, Mo., Police Department.

Ten students, driver, injured in Lebanon school bus accident

Ten students and the driver were injured in a school bus accident 6:55 a.m. today on Highway MM northeast of Lebanon.

From the KOLR report:

According to the crash report, 49-year-old, Angela Jones was driving the bus when it ran off the right side of the roadway and striking a culvert.

Ten students and the driver on Bus 44 were taken by ambulance to Mercy Hospital in Lebanon.

"We don't believe there were any serious injuries," says Jacy Overstreet, R-3 director of communication. "But some are still being evaluated at the hospital."

Sewer, water rate increase hearings set in Forsyth, Ozark

(From the Missouri Public Service Commission)

The Missouri Public Service Commission will hold local public hearings in Forsyth and Ozark on November 19, 2015, in water and sewer rate cases filed by Ozark International, Inc. The local public hearing schedule appears below.

November 19—Forsyth.  Auditorium, Forsyth High School, 178 Panther Street.  A PSC staff public information/question and answer session starts at 11:30 a.m. with the Commission receiving testimony from the public beginning at 12:30 p.m.

November 19—Ozark.  Municipal Court Room, 203-B East Brick Street.  A PSC staff public information/question and answer session starts at 5:30 p.m. with the Commission receiving testimony from the public beginning at 6:30 p.m. 

These local public hearings will be held in facilities that meet the accessibility requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Any person who needs additional accommodations to participate in these hearings should call the Public Service Commission’s hotline at 1-800-392-4211 (voice) or Relay Missouri at 711 before the hearings.

On February 9, 2015, Ozark International, Inc. filed rate cases with the Missouri Public Service Commission on behalf of six of its water companies (Bilyeu Ridge Water Company, LLC, Midland Water Company, Inc., Moore Bend Water Utility, LLC, Riverfork Water Company, Taney County Water, LLC and Valley Woods Utility, LLC) and one of its sewer companies (Valley Woods Utility, LLC).

Valley Woods Utility, LLC serves approximately 42 water customers and 39 sewer customers in Christian County near Spokane, Missouri. The Riverfork Water Company serves approximately 143 water customers in Stone County near Nixa, Missouri. The Bilyeu Ridge Water Company serves approximately 55 water customers in Christian County near Spokane, Missouri. Taney County Water, LLC serves approximately 458 water customers in Taney County near Rockaway Beach and Kissee Mills, Missouri. Moore Bend Water Utility, LLC serves approximately 86 water customers in Taney County near Cedarcreek, Missouri. Midland Water Company, Inc. serves approximately 94 water customers in Christian County near Billings, Missouri.

Under the small rate case process, the PSC Staff audits the books and records of each company. After the audit, the PSC Staff shares its audit review as well as its initial recommendation for resolution of the rate request to the Office of the Public Counsel and Ozark International, Inc. Based upon discussions between the PSC Staff, the Office of the Public Counsel and the company, the PSC Staff and the company have reached an agreement in each of the rate cases. The rate request as filed on February 9, 2015 and the agreed to rate adjustment for each company appears below

Company                                            Rate Request                     Proposed Agreement*

Bilyeu Ridge Water Company               $5,000 (W)                                 $7,716 (W)

Taney County Water, LLC                    $60,000 (W)                              $24,414 (W)

Riverfork Water Company                    $ 5,400 (W)                               $5,481 (W)

Moore Bend Water Utility, LLC                $22,000 (W)                         $21,882 (W)

Midland Water Company, Inc.                  $ 9,000 (W)                          $      482 (W)

Valley Woods Utility, LLC                       $ 6,600 (W)                           $          0 (W)

Valley Woods Utility, LLC                       $ 3,900 (S)                             ($8,602) (S)

(W)-Water        (S)-Sewer

*-Proposed agreement between the PSC Staff and Ozark International, Inc. 

The impact of the proposed agreement on the monthly bill of a residential customer in each of the company service areas appears below.

Company                                    Usage                        Current Rate                                               Proposed Rate Under The Agreement*

Water

Bilyeu Ridge Water Company      6,000 gallons                  $25.90                                                                    $38.58

Taney County Water, LLC           6,000 gallons                  $40.17                                                                    $46.33

Riverfork Water Company            5,200 gallons                $28.80                                                                     $32.38

Moore Bend Water Utility, LLC   1,000 gallons                 $13.87                                                                     $38.44

Midland Water Company, Inc.      6,000 gallons                $37.19                                                                     $37.75

Valley Woods Utility, LLC           5,000 gallons                $33.01                                                                      $33.10

Sewer

Valley Woods Utility, LLC                Flat                          $59.43                                                                      $42.16

*-Proposed agreement between the PSC Staff and Ozark International, Inc. 

Springfield man pleads guilty to child pornography charge

(From the U. S. Attorney for the Western District of Missouri)

A prior sex offender in Springfield, Mo., pleaded guilty in federal court today to receiving and distributing child pornography.

Gary Thomas Sheldon, 52, of Springfield, pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge David P. Rush to the charge contained in a July 21, 2015, federal indictment.

By pleading guilty today, Sheldon admitted that he received and distributed child pornography over the Internet from Oct. 5, 2014, to July 15, 2015. Sheldon, a registered sex offender, was convicted in federal court of possessing child pornography in January 2001. As a result, Sheldon will be subject to a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in federal prison without parole.

According to court documents, law enforcement officers received a cybertip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which had received the tip from an adult pornography Web site where Sheldon had uploaded an image of child pornography. Law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at Sheldon’s residence on July 15, 2015. Sheldon’s desktop computer and cell phone were seized, and investigators discovered images of child pornography on both devices.

Under federal statutes, Sheldon is subject to a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in federal prison without parole, up to a sentence of 40 years in federal prison without parole, plus a fine up to $250,000. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ami Harshad Miller. It was investigated by the FBI, the Missouri State Highway Patrol and the Southwest Missouri Cybercrime Task Force.