By Jeff Lehr

jlehr@joplinglobe.com

Jurors deliberated 24 minutes Tuesday before finding David A. Hagensieker guilty of stealing sewer services from the city of Carthage.

Hagensieker was convicted of felony theft at the conclusion of a two-day trial in Jasper County Circuit Court in Joplin. Circuit Judge Gayle Crane ordered that a sentencing-assessment report be completed and set July 14 as the date for sentencing.

The conviction carries up to one year in jail, or up to seven years in prison and a $5,000 fine. Hagensieker, 63, had been free on bond pending trial, and the judge allowed him to remain on bond until he is sentenced.

The case was focused on properties Hagensieker owns on West Airport Drive in Carthage and a search warrant that was served on those properties two years ago. Jasper County Health Department and Carthage Water & Electric Plant inspectors reportedly found illegal connections of sewer lines from the Super Six Motel, King Jack Sports Grill & Bar, and a trailer home, all of which Hagensieker owns outside the city limits, to a septic tank and grinder pump on a residential property he owns inside the city.

The prosecution maintained at the trial that the defendant had benefited from city sewer services to the motel, bar and trailer home for about 26 months between 2003 and 2006 without paying, and that he had done so knowingly.

The defendant’s attorney, William Fleischaker, argued that his client never benefited intentionally from any connections of lines between his properties, and that the city had no clear evidence to what extent he may have benefited.

But prosecution witnesses testified that the county Health Department inserted dye into sewer lines on the properties to establish where sewage was flowing, and that the city placed flow meters on a sewer main to estimate what additional sewage was being pumped into the city’s system.

Bob Williams, director of Carthage Water & Electric Plant, estimated the cost of services Hagensieker received for free over the 26-month period at $448 per month. That amount did not include additional costs the city had incurred installing flow meters and taking other measures.

Value of services

A probable-cause affidavit filed two years ago put the total amount of the theft at $34,169.37. The matter of what restitution the defendant may be required to make to the city will be decided at sentencing, Assistant Prosecutor Nate Dally said.