By Derek Spellman
dspellman@joplinglobe.com
PINEVILLE, Mo. — A former clerk in the McDonald County prosecutor’s office will stand trial on a felony charge of stealing after allegedly faking cancer and then taking donations for assistance, a judge ruled Wednesday.
Tammy R. Young was bound over for trial after a brief preliminary hearing that consisted principally of testimony from a former co-worker who helped organize fundraisers for Young in April and May. Young was charged with two counts of felony stealing in August, after being fired the previous month and after an unsuccessful appeal for reinstatement, according to court documents.
T.C. Banta, who still works in the prosecutor’s office, told the court Wednesday that Young first told her in October 2008 that she suffered from Ewing’s sarcoma, a malignant form of tumor most often found in bone or soft tissue.
“She stated that the cancer has come back,” Banta said.
Young, according to Banta, later said that she had been undergoing chemotherapy and radiation treatment for her cancer at hospitals in Neosho, Joplin and Tulsa, Okla., initially once a week and then twice a week.
Young’s co-workers in the prosecutor’s office, including Banta, approached her earlier this year and asked if they could help with fundraisers, according to Banta’s testimony. Young, 42, agreed.
The first fundraiser, which took place in late April, consisted of a baked potato bar in the courthouse and generated about $520. The second, which took place in May, was a poker run that also featured an auction, a chicken dinner and a dunk tank. It generated about $5,400 for Young.
Banta said Young had not asked for the fundraisers, although she did collect items for the auction and helped create designs for T-shirts.
Young’s defense attorney, Ross Rhoades, of Neosho, asked Banta under cross-examination if she saw Young exhibit any symptoms such as hair loss or nausea.
“She did come in with no hair,” Banta said. She later said under questioning by special prosecutor Duane Cooper that Young had “shaved” her head, and that she did not look closely enough to see whether the hair was falling out.
“I had no reason to doubt at that point,” Banta said.
Banta did say under cross-examination that Young looked “in pain” at times, struggling to walk. She said she did not see any symptoms of nausea.
The only other witness to testify Wednesday was McDonald County Sheriff Robert Evenson, who investigated the case.
Evenson testified that Young admitted to him during a telephone conversation in August that she was never diagnosed with or treated for cancer.
Rhoades contended that the state did not produce any evidence showing either that Young did not contract cancer or that she did not believe she suffered from cancer.
“I think the crux of the case is whether she thought she had cancer,” he said.
He also argued that Young did not ask anyone to stage the fundraisers for her.
“Thus far, I have heard no evidence of fraud or deceit,” Rhoades said.
Cooper, a Pineville attorney who was appointed special prosecutor after Prosecutor Janice Durbin recused herself, countered that Young had told people that she was being treated for cancer when she was not. Meanwhile, she was accepting money from fundraisers mounted on her behalf.
Ultimately, Associate Judge John LePage ordered Young bound over for trial.
Up next
Tammy Young is to be arraigned Nov. 17 in the trial division of McDonald County Circuit Court.
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