Judge suspends jail sentence in scam case

Memorial Day travelers bemoan high gas prices

Norm Hayward and his wife, Claudia, have a couple of things going for them as they continue their increasingly expensive motor home trip around parts of the United States. For starters, the Phoenix, Ariz., couple are saving on hotel costs.

Crime & Courts

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January 7, 2013

Judge suspends jail sentence in scam case

news@joplinglobe.com The Joplin Globe Mon Jan 07, 2013, 11:37 PM CST

A Joplin man pleaded guilty Monday to a reduced charge of financial exploitation of an elderly person and was assessed a suspended jail sentence.

Troy G. Lansaw, 40, entered an Alford plea in Jasper County Circuit Court to a misdemeanor count in a plea deal with the prosecutor’s office. An Alford plea admits no guilt but acknowledges the probability of a conviction if the matter were to proceed to trial.

Circuit Judge David Dally accepted the plea agreement and assessed Lansaw one year in jail, with execution of the sentence suspended and the defendant placed on probation for a year.

Police and court records allege that Lansaw and two accomplices bilked a 79-year-old Joplin woman out of $360 for “roof repairs” in April 2011. The only repair was the placement of fresh tar at the base of two pipes, according to a probable-cause affidavit.

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