May 11, 2008 08:29 pm
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By Derek Spellman
and Melissa Dunson
news@joplinglobe.com
At least four criminal cases have been filed in the last 15 months in the wake of teen deaths and those cases are now making their way through the courts in Southwest Missouri.
* Jarub Baird
A jury trial is set for June 2-4 in Jasper County for Jarub Baird, 18, of Carthage, charged with one count of involuntary manslaughter and two counts of second-degree assault stemming from a Dec. 8, 2006, traffic accident that took the life of Hannah Smallwood, 15, of Carthage, and injured two other teenagers. Baird was driving.
A probable-cause affidavit filed by the state trooper who investigated the accident states that a small bag of marijuana was found in the driver’s shoe. Tests then were ordered on a blood sample obtained from Baird and they came back positive for marijuana, the affidavit states.
However, the Jasper County Prosecutor’s office never introduced evidence in that regard at Baird’s preliminary hearing in October. Instead, the prosecutor’s office is basing its charges on the alleged recklessness of the speed at which Baird was driving.
A phone message left for Debbie Smallwood, Hannah Smallwood’s mother, was not returned.
* Justin Pickup
A trial has been scheduled for July 9-11 in the case of Justin Pickup, 24, a former Neosho police officer who is accused of giving a pint of vodka to Kassie Schenck, 16, the day before she crashed her car at 4 a.m. on Dec. 21, 2007, on Pineville Road. Pickup is charged with one count of misdemeanor child endangerment in connection to the case.
The case is being prosecuted by the Missouri Attorney General’s office after then-Newton County Prosecutor Scott Watson recused himself because of a conflict of interest. The trial will take place in McDonald County on a change of venue from Newton County.
Karen Cahalan, Kassie Schenck’s mother, said the family is awaiting the trial.
“We just kind of take it one day at a time,” she said.
* Brandon Himes
A hearing is set for 9 a.m. on May 19 in the case of Brandon K. Himes, 23, of Monett, charged with one count of first-degree involuntary manslaughter, a class C felony, and one misdemeanor count of supplying liquor to a minor or an intoxicated person for his role in the death of Jessica Murphy, 18, of Verona, at a party in March 2007.
Himes was bound over for trial in February after his preliminary hearing, which featured one witness who testified that Himes allegedly poured about “half a fifth” of vodka and “half a fifth” of tequila, along with an unknown amount of beer, into a “beer bong,” or funnel, that fed into Murphy’s mouth via a hose.
Himes has pleaded not guilty to the charge.
Jessica Murphy was one of perhaps two dozen people who went to the home of some young Monett men the night of March 3, 2007, for a birthday party for two women. Witnesses said Murphy and Himes arrived at the party independent of each other. Himes did not live at the house.
Murphy was found dead at the home early on March 4, 2007, and had a blood-alcohol level later determined to be about 0.406 percent, according to authorities. The legal threshold for intoxication in Missouri is 0.08 percent.
Two of the house’s three occupants who were there at the time of the party. Joseph Rattles, 20, and Dennis Meinke Jr., 22, now of Pierce City, each face 10 misdemeanor charges of allowing an underage person to drink on their premises. Rattles’ next court appearance is set for Oct. 7. Meinke, who testified for the prosecution at Himes’ preliminary hearing in February, has a “case review” hearing set for 9 a.m. May 19.
All three cases related to Murphy’s death are in Barry County courts.
* Dominic Blevins
Dominic J. Blevins, 18, of Galena, Kan., has been charged with one count of involuntary manslaughter in Newton County in connection with the death of Kevyn Morang, 16, in a one-car crash on Coyote Road in January. Blevins was the driver in the fatal crash and is accused of running the vehicle off the road and through a guard-rail.
The state trooper who investigated the accident said he had “concerns that he (Blevins) was huffing spray paint while operating a motor vehicle” and obtained blood and urine samples from Blevins with the latter’s consent, according to the probable cause affidavit. The samples have been sent to the Missouri State Highway Patrol’s crime lab for analysis.
The charges brought by the Newton County Prosecutor’s office, however, make no mention of spray paint. A pre-trial conference in Blevins’ case has been set for 9 a.m. May 20 in Newton County Associate Court.
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