Man sentenced to four-year term for endangering son

Local runners show support for Boston in cross-country relay

After completing the Boston Marathon on April 15, Ashleigh Beyersdorfer made her way through the throngs of runners to retrieve the bag she had checked in and was on her way to meet up with her family when she heard the explosions.

Crime & Courts

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October 2, 2012

Man sentenced to four-year term for endangering son

news@joplinglobe.com The Joplin Globe Tue Oct 02, 2012, 11:30 PM CDT

A Jasper County judge sentenced a Sarcoxie man to four years in prison Monday on a felony conviction for endangerment of his infant son.

Larry C. Gates was assessed the prison term by Circuit Judge David Dally at a hearing in Jasper County Circuit Court in Joplin.

Gates, 34, initially was charged with child abuse after an investigation in March by the Children’s Division of the Missouri Department of Social Services and Sarcoxie police. A state investigator reportedly discovered the defendant’s 3-month-old son with scrapes and bruises that the medical staff at Freeman Hospital West in Joplin believed were caused by abuse, according to a probable-cause affidavit.

The defendant pleaded guilty in July to a reduced charge of child endangerment in a plea agreement with the Jasper County prosecutor’s office that limited the prison time he might be assessed to no more than four years. In a plea document, Gates acknowledged regularly smoking methamphetamine in the baby’s presence.

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