Springfield woman killed in crash on 13

A Springfield woman was killed in a two-vehicle collision 4:08 p.m. today on MO 13, four miles north of Springfield.

According to the Highway Patrol report, a 2008 Cadillac SRX driven by Michael A. Rhoads, 73, Springfield, crossed into the path of a 2017 Ford F150 driven by Matthew B. McCarty, 23, Bolivar and was struck by it.

A passenger in the Rhoads vehicle, Jeannie M. Rhoads, 69, Springfield, was pronounced dead at Cox South Hospital at 4:50 p.m. by Dr. Kevin Christian.

Rhoads was treated for moderate injuries at Cox South.

Bridge repairs on Eastbound I-44 in Lawrence County to cause delays

(From MODOT)

Bridge Repairs on Eastbound I-44 in Lawrence County
Will Cause Lane Closure ? Expect Delays Beginning Aug. 7

Where: Eastbound I-44 in Lawrence County at Mt. Vernon (Mile Marker 47)

What/When:
Eastbound driving (right) lane closed ‘round the clock August 7-10
Eastbound passing (left) lane closed ‘round the clock week of August 14-17

Traffic Impacts:
One eastbound lane closed at a time
Lane width reduced to 12 feet
Delays expected
Signs and message boards will alert drivers to the work zone

(Weather and/or construction delays will alter the work schedule.)

Jungmann kicks off Springfield Public Schools' 150th year during Chamber event

(From Springfield Public Schools)

With the assistance of two Central High School Kilties, Superintendent John Jungmann kicked off Springfield Public Schools' 150th year during the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce's Good Morning, Springfield event today.

Dr. Jungmann delivered his annual State of the Schools address Aug. 3, highlighting the school district's evolution since 1867 and engaging participants in imagining what the future holds for public education.

Watch the State of the Schools Address. 

Hollister woman injured crashing into two trees

A Hollister woman was injured in a one-vehicle accident 5:09 p.m. Wednesday on Fruit Farm Road, five miles south of Hollister.

According to the Highway Patrol report, a 2002 Buick Lesabre driven by Katerina D. Coxie, 22, Hollister, exited the roadway to the right, overcorrected to the left, exited the roadway, struck two trees and overturned.

Coxie was treated for moderate injuries at Cox Hospital, Branson.

Willard man charged with DWI following accident north of Springfield

A Willard man was charged with driving while intoxicated following a one-vehicle accident 7:10 a.m. today on Route H, seven miles north of Springfield.

According to the Highway Patrol report, a 2000 Acura driven by John M. Goddard, 24, Willard, ran off the roadway and struck several trees.

Goddard, who was treated for serious injuries at Mercy Hospital, Springfield, was also cited for driving while revoked, no seat belt, and careless and imprudent driving.

Springfield woman sentenced for stolen mail, fraud

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

A Springfield, Mo., woman responsible for mail thefts from at least 40 victims in three counties, was sentenced in federal court today.

Lisa Beatrice Gee, 29, of Springfield, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool to two years and six months in federal prison without parole. The court also ordered Gee to pay $10,994 in restitution to her victims.

On March 15, 2017, Gee pleaded guilty to passing a forged check, credit card fraud and stealing mail. Gee admitted that she was in possession of stolen mail between Jan. 8 and March 17, 2016. When Gee was arrested on March 17, 2016, she was in possession of mail stolen by herself, or others at her direction, from at least 40 different individuals in Greene, Christian and Polk Counties. Gee admitted that she took checks, credit cards, Social Security cards and personal identification cards belonging to those mail theft victims. Gee used the contents of the stolen mail to engage in fraudulent criminal acts.

Gee admitted that she fraudulently conducted financial transactions with credit cards, debit cards, identification cards and personal identification numbers. Gee also passed a forged check on Jan. 23, 2016. Gee altered the check, which had been mailed from one person to another, to make it payable to a third person and deposited the check in that person’s bank account. Shortly thereafter, Gee withdrew the same amount of money from the account in the form of ATM cash withdrawals.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick Carney. It was investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Springfield, Mo., Police Department, the Nixa, Mo., Police Department and the Ozark, Mo., Police Department.

Springfield man sentenced to 15 years for producing child pornography

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

A Springfield, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for using a minor to produce child pornography.

Tyler Coons, 26, of Springfield, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool to 15 years in federal prison without parole. The court also sentenced Coons to 15 years of supervised release following his incarceration.

On Jan. 30, 2017, Coons pleaded guilty to one count of using a minor to produce child pornography and one count of receiving and distributing child pornography.

The investigation began when the father of an 11-year-old girl filed a report with the Greene County Sheriff’s Department on June 3, 2014, after his daughter received inappropriate Facebook messages from Coons. When he signed into his daughter’s Facebook account, he saw messages from Coons and set up a meeting with him, pretending to be his daughter. The father met Coons on the playground of a local elementary school and told him to have no further contact with his daughter.

On June 20, 2014, a search warrant was obtained for Coons’s Facebook account and Facebook provided investigators with more than 8,000 pages of private messages exchanged between Coons and others. Many of the messages were from young girls between the ages of 11 and 17. Coons asked several of the girls to send him pictures of themselves without clothes on.

During numerous Facebook conversations with girls claiming to be under the age of 18, Coons refers to exchanging naked pictures via social media, including Snapchat, Instagram and Kik. Frequently, during the conversations, Coons refers to the females as “jailbait” and indicates that he is aware he is engaging in illegal activity.

On July 10, 2014, detectives from the Greene County Sheriff’s Department executed a search warrant at Coons’s residence. Coons was inside the residence with a 17-year-old female, who was identified as one of the minors who had sent him several pornographic images of herself. Coons admitted that he and the 17-year-old victim were sexually active, and that they could have been sexually active while she was still 16 years old. Coons also admitted that he sent a naked picture of himself to her.

In an interview with investigators, the 17-year-old victim said that she and another minor, whom she believed to be 15 years old, had engaged in sexual activity with Coons at his residence on the night before the search warrant was executed.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney James J. Kelleher. It was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Greene County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department.

Cassville residents killed, survivor airlifted to Cox South following accident on 60

Two Cassville residents were killed and a third seriously injured in a one-vehicle accident 2:20 p.m. today on U. S. 60, one mile west of Billings.

According to the Highway Patrol report, a 2002 Mercury Grand Marquis driven by Joan M. Schoelzel, 82, Cassville, ran off the right side of the roadway, struck a ditch and overturned several times.

Two passengers, Jerold E. Schoelzel, 87, and Justin D. Schoelzel, 44, both of Cassville, were pronounced dead at the scene at 3:16 p.m. and 3:26 p.m., respectively, by the Christian County coroner.

The driver was airlifted to Cox South Hospital, Springfield, with serious injuries.

The fatalities were the 61st and 62nd this year for Highway Patrol Troop D.

Springfield man sentenced to 15 years on weapons charge

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

A Springfield, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for illegally possessing firearms.

Christopher M. Behn, 40, of Springfield, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool to 15 years and eight months in federal prison without parole. Behn was sentenced as an armed career criminal due to his prior felony convictions.

On May 4, 2017, Behn pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of firearms.

Springfield police officers executed a search warrant at Behn’s residence on Nov. 4, 2015. Officers found a Springfield Armory .45-caliber semi-automatic pistol in a portable trailer in the driveway and a DSA .223-caliber semi-automatic rifle in a metal outbuilding on the south side of the trailer.

Under federal law, it is illegal for anyone who has been convicted of a felony to be in possession of any firearm or ammunition. Behn has three prior felony convictions for possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance, two prior felony convictions for possession of a controlled substance, and prior felony convictions for conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance, car theft, threatening with a deadly weapon, unlawful possession of a weapon by a previous offender, possession of a methamphetamine precursor drug with the intent to manufacture methamphetamine, and resisting arrest.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Nhan D. Nguyen. It was investigated by the Springfield, Mo., Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Springfield man, Willard woman plead guilty to meth conspiracy, money laundering charges

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

A Springfield, Mo., man and a Willard, Mo., woman pleaded guilty in federal court today to their roles in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine in Greene County, Mo., and in a money-laundering conspiracy.

Patrick R. Brigaudin, 55, of Springfield, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool to the charges contained in a Sept. 28, 2016, federal indictment.

Gayla Rochelle Phillips, 42, of Willard, pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge David P. Rush to the same charges.

Brigaudin and Phillips admitted they participated in the methamphetamine conspiracy from October 2013 to Feb. 29, 2016. In total, the amount of pure methamphetamine involved in the conspiracy weighed in excess of 4.5 kilograms.

In March 2015, a shipment of approximately 15 pounds of pure methamphetamine was interdicted by law enforcement officers. Three persons were arrested following a controlled delivery of the methamphetamine to a Springfield hotel. Brigaudin admitted that he attempted to possess some or all of the methamphetamine, which he intended to distribute to others. Brigaudin also admitted to distributing methamphetamine on several occasions in 2015 and 2016.

On Feb. 29, 2016, two individuals transported approximately 12 pounds of methamphetamine to Brigaudin’s residence. While they were removing the methamphetamine from a vehicle, they and Brigaudin were arrested.

Phillips admitted that she obtained methamphetamine from Brigaudin on Feb. 19, 2016, which she then distributed to another person.

Brigaudin and Phillips also admitted they purchased a 2006 Lincoln Mark LT pickup truck by paying an automobile dealer $7,200 in cash and an $8,500 check drawn on Phillips’s bank account. They conducted this financial transaction with drug-trafficking proceeds in order to conceal the nature and source of the funds and to avoid a transaction reporting requirement.

Under federal statutes, Brigaudin is subject to a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years in federal prison without parole, up to a sentence of life in prison without parole. Phillips is subject to a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in federal prison without parole, up to a sentence of life in federal prison without parole. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. Sentencing hearings will be scheduled after the completion of presentence investigations by the United States Probation Office.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy A. Garrison. It was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, IRS-Criminal Investigation, the Springfield, Mo., Police Department, the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the Ozark, Mo., Police Department, the Greene County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department, COMET (the Combined Ozarks Multijurisdictional Enforcement Team) and the South Central Drug Task Force.