Jury Trial

FORSYTH, Mo.  -- The jury trial for the former bookkeeper for Branson singer Andy Williams has been set. Online documents show Dawn Cleveringa's jury trial is set to begin on June 25.  Prosecutors say Cleveringa wrote checks to herself, forged the signature and then cashed them. She's accused of swiping than $25,000 from The Moon River Theater but Andy Williams' attorneys claim Cleveringa stole around $1-million.

The jury trial for one of the four men accused of a brutal triple murder in Laclede County begins Monday. Steven Pyykola's trial is being held in Morgan County on a change of venue.  Pyykola, along with Josh Reyes, Jacky Wong, and Benjamin Stidham are charged with first degree murder in the shooting deaths of Jeff and Glenda Smith of Phillipsburg and Zack Porter of Lebanon in October 2009. Josh Reyes pleaded guilty to his part in the murders last May.

A criminal jury trial is scheduled to begin Monday in Laclede County on a change of venue. Kelly Simino is charged with second degree murder for the death of Brandi Mathews.  Simino was charged in January of this year in that cold case homicide. Mathews disappeared in 2006 around the Lake of the Ozarks area.  Her remains were found in Miller County in 2009.  According to police reports, Simino allegedly beat Mathews, his ex-girlfriend, to death.

SPRINGFIELD -- A Springfield teenager charged with first degree murder has opted for a trial without a jury.       James Duke forfeited his right to a jury during his court appearance on Friday.       Duke and Jordan Martin are charged with shooting 17-year-old Kody Ray in March 2010.       Authorities say Duke pulled the trigger while Martin waited in the car.       Both have pleaded not guilty to the charges; Duke's bench trial begins February 1st.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo--The babysitter from Willard, MO accused of killing a nine-month-old boy has waived her right to a jury trial.    Brenda Caringer will appear before a judge who will hear the case alone starting Tuesday morning.    Caringer is charged with second-degree murder in the 2009 death of Lucas Theede-Bennett.    An autopsy determined the infant died from head injuries and skull damage.

The trial for a Springfield man charged with multiple sex crimes involving kids is set to begin this week. Roger Bargeman is charged with enticement of a child, child endangerment and statutory sodomy. A warrant says he would lure teenage boys to his mobile home with alcohol, drugs and gifts for the purpose of sexually assaulting them.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - A young man from Springfield admitted on Tuesday that he sexually abused a 12-year-old boy who was a family friend.  Nicholas Rountree, 20, pleaded guilty to four counts of first-degree statutory sodomy. Rountree pleaded guilty during his jury trial after forcing the boy, who is now 14 years old, to take the witness stand and in the middle of the victim's testimony.  The trial began on Monday. Rountree began his friendship with the victim when the victim was 11 years old and Rountree was 17 and the two were in the same Boy Scout troop.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- A former babysitter from Willard who is accused of killing a 9-month-old boy waived her right to a jury trial on Monday morning.  Brenda Caringer opted to have Greene County Circuit Judge Calvin Holden decide her guilt or innocence. Caringer's trial, which could last until next week, is scheduled to start at 9 a.m. Tuesday.  She's charged with second-degree murder or, in the alternative, child abuse resulting in death for the death of Lucas Theede-Bennett in 2009.

CAMDENTON, Mo. -- A former Marine stationed at Fort Leonard Wood received a 10-year prison sentence this week for a drunken driving accident that killed his 21-year old passenger.  Investigators said John Harrison was driving drunk when he lost control of his car on a curve, hit a fence, and flipped the car in 2008. Ashley Parks, from Camden County, was killed.  The Lake Sun Leader reports she was pregnant at the time. Circuit Judge Stanley Moore heard the evidence against Harrison and attorneys' arguments for and against conviction last December, after Harrison waived his right to a jury trial.  Moore issued a guilty verdict for involuntary manslaughter in March.  That crime carries a prison sentence between five and 15 years.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - A young man from Springfield admitted on Tuesday that he sexually abused a 12-year-old boy who was a family friend.  Nicholas Rountree, 20, pleaded guilty to four counts of first-degree statutory sodomy. Rountree pleaded guilty during his jury trial after forcing the boy, who is now 14 years old, to take the witness stand and in the middle of the victim's testimony.  The trial began on Monday. Rountree began his friendship with the victim when the victim was 11 years old and Rountree was 17 and the two were in the same Boy Scout troop.

FORSYTH, Mo.  -- The jury trial for the former bookkeeper for Branson singer Andy Williams has been set. Online documents show Dawn Cleveringa's jury trial is set to begin on June 25.  Prosecutors say Cleveringa wrote checks to herself, forged the signature and then cashed them. She's accused of swiping than $25,000 from The Moon River Theater but Andy Williams' attorneys claim Cleveringa stole around $1-million.

SPRINGFIELD -- A Springfield teenager charged with first degree murder has opted for a trial without a jury.       James Duke forfeited his right to a jury during his court appearance on Friday.       Duke and Jordan Martin are charged with shooting 17-year-old Kody Ray in March 2010.       Authorities say Duke pulled the trigger while Martin waited in the car.       Both have pleaded not guilty to the charges; Duke's bench trial begins February 1st.

A criminal jury trial is scheduled to begin Monday in Laclede County on a change of venue. Kelly Simino is charged with second degree murder for the death of Brandi Mathews.  Simino was charged in January of this year in that cold case homicide. Mathews disappeared in 2006 around the Lake of the Ozarks area.  Her remains were found in Miller County in 2009.  According to police reports, Simino allegedly beat Mathews, his ex-girlfriend, to death.

CAMDENTON, Mo. -- A former Marine stationed at Fort Leonard Wood received a 10-year prison sentence this week for a drunken driving accident that killed his 21-year old passenger.  Investigators said John Harrison was driving drunk when he lost control of his car on a curve, hit a fence, and flipped the car in 2008. Ashley Parks, from Camden County, was killed.  The Lake Sun Leader reports she was pregnant at the time. Circuit Judge Stanley Moore heard the evidence against Harrison and attorneys' arguments for and against conviction last December, after Harrison waived his right to a jury trial.  Moore issued a guilty verdict for involuntary manslaughter in March.  That crime carries a prison sentence between five and 15 years.

The jury trial for one of the four men accused of a brutal triple murder in Laclede County begins Monday. Steven Pyykola's trial is being held in Morgan County on a change of venue.  Pyykola, along with Josh Reyes, Jacky Wong, and Benjamin Stidham are charged with first degree murder in the shooting deaths of Jeff and Glenda Smith of Phillipsburg and Zack Porter of Lebanon in October 2009. Josh Reyes pleaded guilty to his part in the murders last May.

The trial for a Springfield man charged with multiple sex crimes involving kids is set to begin this week. Roger Bargeman is charged with enticement of a child, child endangerment and statutory sodomy. A warrant says he would lure teenage boys to his mobile home with alcohol, drugs and gifts for the purpose of sexually assaulting them.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Brenda Caringer of Willard broke down and sobbed on Thursday afternoon as a judge pronounced her guilty of killing a 9-month-old boy who was in her care in January 2009.   Greene County Circuit Judge Calvin Holden said he finds Caringer guilty of child abuse resulting in death after reading a 15-minute explanation of his reasoning. Holden heard five days of testimony and attorneys' arguments last week and this week.  Caringer waived her right to a jury trial.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- A Greene County circuit judge said Tuesday morning that he will issue his verdict on Thursday afternoon in the trial of a woman accused of killing a 9-month-old boy.  Judge Calvin Holden scheduled his announcement for 4 p.m. that day.   Brenda Caringer of Willard waived her right to a jury trial.  Tuesday is the fifth -- and likely last -- day that Holden has heard attorneys' arguments and testimony. Caringer is charged with killing Lucas Theede-Bennett, whom she was babysitting in January 2009.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- A Greene County circuit judge is hearing the trial of a woman from Willard who's charged with killing a nine-month-old boy, Lucas Theede-Bennett, whom she was babysitting in January 2009.  Brenda Caringer waived her right to a jury trial. Caringer is charged with second-degree murder or, in the alternative, child abuse resulting in death.  Prosecutors filed both charges in case the facts of the case turn out to fit one charge more than the other.  If she's convicted of either charge, she would face a prison sentence between 10 and 30 years (life)