Accused kidnappers invoke Fifth Amendment rights in hearing

By Rusty Murry

Herald-Tribune

Roy A. Slates appeared in the Associate Circuit Court of Vernon County on Thursday, March 25 for a pre-trial conference in connection with the November 2009 home invasion of the residence of Charles Scammell and the Jan. 8 kidnapping of New Jersey pet food dealer Jeffrey Muller. Slates is represented by Joseph Passanise of Springfield, Mo., and is set to appear for a preliminary hearing on May 27. Slates is free on bond.

William J. Barger also made an appearance in the courtroom of Associate Judge Neal Quitno in connection with the alleged Scammell home invasion and Muller kidnapping. During sworn testimony, Charles Scammell testified, as stated in a probable cause statement, that three men wearing ski masks forced their way into the home and confronted him with firearms. Scammell further testified that the three intruders questioned him about a man named Jeffrey Muller.

Scammell was shot in the right hand during the encounter, and he and his wife were tied to chairs with zip ties and told not to tell the police what had really happened, according to the probable cause statement.

Accused kidnappers Douglas Stangeland and Andrew Wadel were also put on the witness stand to testify during the preliminary hearing, but both men invoked their rights under the Fifth Amendment, which allows them to remain silent and avoid self-incrimination.

Vernon County Sheriff's Office Investigator Steve Schlup testified for the prosecution that both Stangeland and Wadel told him during separate interviews that it was them in the Scammell home and that they were there on the orders of William Barger. Barger's preliminary hearing has been continued to April 15. Barger, Stangeland and Wadel are all represented by a public defender or a private attorney working as a public defender.

Barger remains in the Vernon County Jail with no bond as do Stangeland and Wadel, but that may change. According to the Vernon County prosecutor Lynn M. Ewing III, the governor's warrants requested by the State of New Jersey in order to extradite Stangeland and Wadel back to that state on kidnapping charges have been delivered.

A misspelling in the Stangeland warrant, however, must be corrected before it is valid and the suspects can then be sent to New Jersey. Ewing said that may be as early as the first of the week. "I am anticipating that they're going to waive any contest and consent to go back to New Jersey," Ewing said.

At that time, the charges filed against both men in Vernon County would go into a "holding pattern," said Ewing. After the state of New Jersey finishes with them, both defendants would then be brought back to Nevada to face the charges here.

A fifth man arrested and charged in the kidnapping case waived his extradition rights and has already been taken back to New Jersey. Lonnie Swarnes of Rich Hill remains in the Sussex County New Jersey jail on $750.000 cash only bond.

This bizarre case came to light after Swarnes, Stangeland and Wadel were arrested in Lake Ozark Mo. on Jan. 9. Having allegedly kidnapped Jeffrey Muller on Nov. 8, they were on the return trip to Vernon County when their car broke down. Muller managed to escape while his abductors were trying to fix the car, and a store clerk called the local police who arrested the three. Subsequent interviews with the trio led to the arrest of Barger which in turn led to Slates turning himself into the Vernon County Sheriff's Office