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Randolph County State's Attorney case updates

Posted December 08, 2015 10:00 pm

By Staff Report

People v. William A. Armbruster:

On November 19, 42-year-old William A. Armbruster, of Maryville, pleaded guilty to an amended charge of deceptive practice before the Honorable Gene Gross and was sentenced to one year conditional discharge and to pay restitution to the victim of the bad check.

During the plea, Mr. Armbruster admitted to writing several bad checks in August 2014 to a business in Red Bud.

"We amended the charge from a felony to a misdemeanor," said Randolph County State's Attorney Jeremy Walker. "It did not appear Mr. Armbruster has written any bad checks in the past and it just did not see like the type of case a felony was warranted."

The State's Attorney's Bad Check program investigated this matter.

People v. Shaun E. Dover:

On November 30, 37-year-old Shaun E. Dover, of Perryville, Mo., was sentenced to five years in the Illinois Department of Corrections by the Honorable Richard A. Brown for the offense of unlawful possession of a weapon (firearm) by a felon.

During the sentencing hearing, the defendant requested a sentence of two years in DOC, while the State requested a five-year sentence.

Dover had previously admitted to possessing a firearm, after being convicted of a felony, on June 19. Dover had also been charged with residential burglary allegedly occurring on June 19, but that charge was dismissed to facilitate the plea on the weapons charge.

"Our victims in the burglary case wanted five years and we achieved that goal without having to go to trial," said Randolph County State's Attorney Jeremy Walker. "A lot of what we do is like playing chess, you have to be thinking several moves ahead to be successful."

The Randolph County Sheriff's Office and Sparta Police Departments investigated this matter.

People v. Curtis W. Parrott:

On November 30, 36-year-old Curtis W. Parrott, of Farmington, Mo., was found guilty of the offense of indecent solicitation of a child (Class 4 felony) by Judge Gene Gross.

During the trial, evidence was presented to show Parrott discussed an act of sexual conduct with a minor (15 years of age) by means of the internet with the intent the offense of aggravated criminal sexual abuse be committed.

Specifically, evidence proved Parrott engaged in a lengthy conversation regarding sex acts with the victim via the social media site Facebook in May of 2014.

"We now look forward to the sentencing hearing and we will see what the pre-sentence report indicates regarding prior criminal history, but there are a lot of factors that would lead me to ask for a prison sentence in this matter," said Randolph County State's Attorney Jeremy Walker. "We have sentencing set for February 18 at 1 p.m. and we will seek an appropriate sentence for the conduct."

The Illinois State Police investigated this matter.

People v. Shane Kempfer:

On December 3, 46-year-old Shane E. Kempfer, of Sparta, pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of driving while license revoked and was sentenced to 30 days in jail.

The charge was reduced from a Class 4 felony to a Class A misdemeanor. During the plea, Kempfer admitted to operating a motor vehicle while his license was revoked due to a prior DUI conviction on May 29.

"We struck language in the charging document regarding any possible prior convictions for the same offense," said Randolph County State's Attorney Jeremy Walker. "This reduced the charge from a felony to a misdemeanor.

"The actual outcome of jail time would have been the same and there did not appear to be any aggravating factors that warranted a felony conviction."

The Randolph County Sheriff's Office handled the investigation in this matter.

People v. Herbert J. Eggemeyer, Sr.:

On December 3, 54-year-old Herbert J. Eggemeyer, Sr., of Walsh, pleaded guilty to the offense of unlawful possession of a controlled substance and was placed on probation for a period of two years with a condition to seek alcohol/substance abuse counseling under the first offender probation act.

During the plea, Eggemeyer admitted to possessing less than 15 grams of oxycodone hydrochloride on August 12, located during a traffic stop initiated by the Randolph County Sheriff's Office.

During the plea, a driving while suspended charge and a trespass to property charge were dismissed to facilitate the plea.

"Mr. Eggemeyer had no prior felony history, or any history which would have made him ineligible for the first offender status," said Randolph County State's Attorney Jeremy Walker. "Accordingly, he will be given the opportunity to get any help he may need, this can stay off of his record and he will not have to endure the hardship of a felony conviction."

The Randolph County Sheriff's Office handled the investigation in this matter.

People v. Jesus Capiz:

On December 4, 30-year-old Jesus Capiz, of Cahokia, pleaded guilty to the offense of obstructing identification and was placed on conditional discharge for a period of one year by Judge Brown.

Pursuant to the plea, the charge was amended from possessing a fraudulent identification card (Class 4 felony). Capiz admitted to providing a false name to a Randolph County Sheriff's Deputy during a traffic stop on July 17.

"Mr. Capiz had no prior criminal history and was very cooperative during his arrest and detention," said Randolph County State's Attorney Jeremy Walker. "Based on those factors, we reduced the felony charge down.

"Mr. Capiz was also issued a DUI on the evening in question and pleaded guilty to that offense."

The Randolph County Sheriff's Office handled the investigation in this matter.

People v. Thomas L. Clay, Jr.:

On December 7, 43-year-old Thomas L. Clay, Jr., of Sparta, was found not guilty of the offense of criminal trespass to a residence before Judge Brown.

"Our victim was not able to be located, the victim did not appear for the trial and Mr. Clay was found not guilty," said Randolph County State's Attorney Jeremy Walker. "Without the victim, we simply had no evidence to present to the Court."

Walker stated Clay has an identical charge still pending and prosecutors will attempt to locate the victim again and try the case in January.

People v. Jessie L. Bianco:

On December 7, 28-year-old Jessie L. Bianco, of Tilden, was sentenced to two years of probation with a condition to seek alcohol/substance abuse treatment, anger management and 60 days in jail for the offense of aggravated domestic battery before Judge Brown.

During the negotiated plea, Bianco admitted to placing his hands around the neck of a family member and impeding her breathing on October 25.

"We spoke with the victim and she approved the plea," said Randolph County State's Attorney Jeremy Walker. "This is a serious charge, but Mr. Bianco did not appear to have a criminal history before this incident.

"Based on the severity of the charge, we did not reduce the charge and he is a convicted felon for his actions."

The Randolph County Sheriff's Office investigated this matter.

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