By Jeff Lehr
jlehr@joplinglobe.com
A family that operates a salvage yard near Carthage walked away from a court hearing Thursday for the most part in the clear.
Associate Judge Richard Copeland threw out two counts of receiving stolen property against Robby J. Schrader, 30, and two counts of the same against his sister, Bobbi Jean Schrader, 31.
That left just younger brother Eddie Ray Schrader, 27, still on the hook for alleged stolen property and drugs that were seized in November when the Jasper County Sheriff’s Department served search warrants at Schrader’s Auto Salvage and another property.
Charges against the defendants’ mother, Dorothy Schrader, were dropped several weeks ago because of a lack of evidence.
Deputies insist there was no lack of stolen property recovered from the salvage yard and at two homes where they believe Eddie Schrader and Bobbi Jean Schrader live.
Authorities say they hauled away more than five loads of suspected stolen property on a 30-foot trailer. The property included motorcycles, lawn mowers, computers and television sets.
The problem was proving at a preliminary hearing Thursday in Jasper County Circuit Court in Joplin that the Schraders knowingly received and possessed the stolen items.
Assistant Prosecutor Jeremy Crowley focused the prosecution’s case on a television set and two laptop computers that were found inside a home at the salvage yard where investigators believe Eddie Schrader lives.
Crowley said a large, metal-cutting saw, a portable plasma cutter and a riding lawn mower were recovered from a shed behind the same home. Two motorcycles turned up in the salvage yard, and a Rug Doctor carpet shampooer was seized at a trailer home at 2175 W. Old Highway 66, where investigators believe Bobbi Jean Schrader lives.
Crowley called Detective Chris Carriger of the Sheriff’s Department to testify as to where the various items were discovered during the execution of search warrants, and to say that each had been confirmed as stolen between the years 2005 and 2008.
Carriger also testified that personal photographs and mail found inside the home at the salvage yard tied Eddie Schrader to the stolen property and to a little more than a pound of marijuana.
He told the court that Bobbi Jean Schrader was tied to the carpet shampooer at the trailer home by a Social Security statement in her name that was found there.
Defense attorney Phil Glades made a motion at the conclusion of the hearing for acquittal of all three of his clients, arguing that the prosecution had not established that any of them actually possessed the stolen property, let alone received it knowing that it was stolen. Glades said that even if “constructive possession” was granted, it is not sufficient to prove a charge of receiving stolen property.
“There is no cause for a person to have to stand for jury trial on this evidence,” Glades told the judge.
Crowley countered that the sheer volume of stolen property that was seized demonstrated knowledge on the part of the defendants.
Copeland decided that the prosecution had not offered sufficient evidence of Robby Schrader’s and Bobbi Jean Schrader’s possession of stolen items, and he dismissed their charges. The judge said he might be willing to order Eddie Schrader bound over for trial on four counts of receiving stolen property and a single count of possession of marijuana with intent to deliver.
But the judge granted the defense a continuance of the hearing until next Thursday so that he can take under advisement case law that Glades raised in support of his argument.
Stolen property
A Jasper County sheriff’s investigator testified Thursday that a riding lawn mower recovered from a salvage yard near Carthage was stolen from the Race Brothers store. A recovered metal-cutting saw was stolen from the Avilla Fire Department, according to the testimony.
Local News
Charges dwindling in Carthage salvage-yard case
- Local News
-
-
City wants to buy weather radios for those without
Phil Jones had been working on a construction project outside his house all day on May 22 and was unaware that a tornado watch had been issued. Once he was inside, though, his weather radio went off, and he learned that a warning had been issued.
-
Architects present preliminary JHS plans at community meeting
Reaction appeared mostly supportive Thursday night among the roughly 50 people who attended a community meeting at which architects presented their preliminary site plans for the future combined Joplin High School and Franklin Technology Center.
-
Confessed shooter testifies against co-defendants in Pittsburg murder case
Rickey Smith testified Thursday that as he came in the back door of Ryan Bailey’s home in Pittsburg with a 9 mm pistol in his hand, Bailey looked up from the couch in his living room.
-
School district’s proposed street-closing plan questioned
Plans to close some streets near the proposed Joplin High School drew questions, including a challenge from a former Joplin mayor, during a public hearing this week.
-
Neosho council approves new golf cart contract
The purchase of golf carts was back on the agenda this week for the Neosho City Council. City Attorney Steve Hays said there were errors in the financing terms that were part of a bid approved last month for the purchase of 55 gas-powered carts from E-Z-Go for $144,195, so the purchase of a new fleet was rebid.
-
Mike Pound: Spirit of competition evident during double-overtime game
When I played basketball in high school, I played in several very close games.
Now, some people who may have known me in high school are probably laughing right now and saying, “What Mike meant to say is that when he was in high school, he came very close to playing in some games.” -
Mo. optometrist filed $40 million refund claim
A southwest Missouri optometrist who filed a tax return claiming a $40 million refund has been sentenced to four years and three months in federal prison.
-
Okla. receives waiver from No Child Left Behind
Oklahoma’s top education official reacted with glee Thursday with the announcement that the state is one of 10 states being granted a waiver from the federal No Child Left Behind law that requires students be proficient in reading and math by 2014 — but focused on getting students to “just pass the tests.”
-
Kan. House approves bipartisan redistricting bill
Power in the Kansas House is likely to shift next year from rural parts of the state to the Kansas City area after members overwhelmingly approved a bipartisan bill Thursday for redrawing their districts.
-
Fugitive in 1993 British heist arrested in Ozark
A man suspected of stealing about $1.5 million from a security van in England in 1993 has been arrested in southwest Missouri.
- More Local News Headlines
-
Obama Gives Education Waivers to 10 States
Giffords Aide to Run for Her Seat
LA School in Sex Abuse Scandal Reopens
Winter Slamming North Asia, Parts of Europe
Syrian Forces Renew Bombardment of Homs
States, Banks Reach Foreclosure-abuse Settlement
Raw Video: Italy's Mount Etna Bursts Into Life
Greeks March; Angry Despite Debt Deal
Raw Video: U.S. Pullout Celebration
Raw Video: Annual Empire State Building Run-Up
Man Killed in Courthouse Shootout
Air Force Airlines: Leaders Get Polished Service
Ga Girl Fights Off Kidnapper at Walmart
Nevada Highway Patrol, City Settle Beating Case
Homs Bombardment Continues, Global Outcry Grows
Raw Video: Dog Rescued From Icy Colo. Water
Skip the Coffee Cup and Inhale Your Caffeine Fix
