Local families speak out on crime victims' rights

As April comes to an end, so does Child Abuse Awareness Month and Crime Victims' Rights Week. Even so, the effects of crimes committed against local victims do not end by tearing a sheet out of a calendar.

Throughout the month, several events have taken place to raise awareness about crime and how it impacts not only the victim, but also the victim's family and community.

On April 10, dozens of Vernon County residents gathered in the county's circuit courtroom to both listen and speak out about victims' rights. While the ceremony was held to dedicate the week of April 13-19 as National Crime Victims' Rights Week, it also presented a forum for local victims and relatives of victims to speak out about the specific crimes that continue to effect them.

The ceremony was presented by the Vernon County Domestic Violence Task Force and followed the theme, "Justice for Victims, Justice for All."

Throughout the entirety of the ceremony, a slide show was projected on a screen at the front of the courtroom showing images of 31 people who had lost their lives as the direct result of a criminal action within Vernon County.

Following several presentations and the reading of a proclamation designating the week as Crime Victims' Rights Week, Connie Moffatt, the grandmother and great-grandmother of three victims who were fatally injured in a vehicle accident involving a driver under the influence of illegal narcotics, spoke to those in attendance.

Timothy Bybee, 19; Daulton Bybee, 8 months; and Austin Lukenbill, 5, were all killed in the accident on April 14, 2002. Julie Newcome, 21, Timothy's fiancée and her brother Russell Cole, 26, were also killed in the accident, and Misti O'Neal, her 2-year-old son Bryceton Vyler and Dustin O'Neal, 29, who were in a separate vehicle were treated for serious injuries at St. John's hospital.

John Weeter, 37, Fort Scott, the lone occupant of a 2001 Ford Mustang was found to be at fault for the accident. A toxicology report revealed that he had methamphetamine, marijuana and opiates in his system when he crossed the center line of U.S. 54 Highway, striking the 1989 Ford Taurus occupied by the five victims killed in the wreck.

Several days after her speech Moffatt spoke with the Daily Mail about the accident and her experience with the court system.

Moffatt said it is difficult to move on after an incident like this -- especially when the perpetrator has a criminal history.

"He was 37 years old. He wasn't a novice by any means, he knew when he got in that car with drugs in his body what could happen," said Moffat. "People try to tell me, you know, to remember the good stuff. But, the crash was so horrific that you don't remember the good times, you know, all you can think about is the crash and what they went through. There was only one open casket out of the five killed."

Weeter pleaded guilty on March 21, 2003, to five counts of involuntary manslaughter, three counts of vehicular assault and a possession of a controlled substance charge. He was sentenced the same day by Vernon County 28th District Circuit Judge James Bickel to serve 15 years for each involuntary manslaughter charge, 10 years for each assault charge and 7 years for the narcotic charge in a state prison. All sentences were to run concurrently.

Moffatt said she feels as though victims' rights in the court system have been lacking and the relief felt after her families trial ended was short lived because of this.

"He got 15 years running concurrently. Fifteen years for each death, 10 years a piece for each vehicular assault and 7 years for the drugs found in his car. He was supposed to do 85 percent of the first 15, or that's what we were told he was supposed to do. Less than three years later he was up for parole."

"I'd like to have had the right to request a change of venue or judge. I just think those are rights that we should have as well as the accused."

Moffat was only one of several to speak about how crime affected her and her family's lives.

Also to speak at the event was Sherrie Crider, who's son was killed in a car accident on June 24, 2004, involving a drunk driver.

David Jenkins, age 20 at the time of the crash, had been drinking prior to losing control of and crashing his 2003 Mitsubishi in which Jacob Crider was a passenger. Crider was transported by air ambulance to Joplin but did not survive his injuries.

On Nov. 29, 2005, Jenkins pleaded guilty to all three felony charges filed against him including involuntary manslaughter and two assault charges.

On Jan. 10, 2006, Jenkins was sentenced by Bickel to serve seven years in state prison for each charge. The two assault sentences were to run concurrently and the manslaughter charge was to run consecutively for a total of 14 years in prison.

Crider was very upset to learn that on Sept. 28, 2007, without her knowledge, Jenkins returned to court claiming he had been misled when he pleaded guilty. In the official court docket from that hearing it reads, "Upon the request of Defendant's Motion to Vacate, Correct or Set Aside the Judgment and Sentence herein, and by agreement of counsel for the State and Defendant, the Court finds the defendant's open plea was with the understanding that all sentences would run concurrently. In the interests of justice and to avoid further proceedings, the Court corrects and amends its Judgment to order all sentences to run concurrently."

Crider claims to have had no knowledge of this proceeding and furthermore was under the impression that there was no original plea bargain between Jenkins, the defense attorney or the prosecuting attorney. She said she was told by Vernon County Prosecuting Attorney Lynn Ewing III, that Jenkins pleaded guilty with no motivation from a plea bargain.

"We have all these victims rights, there's no teeth," said Crider. "If someone violates your rights they tell you that you have these rights and when you go to court you believe all these things. You know, this involves me and I'm important and what I think is important and then you get into it and you already feel pretty impacted and pretty upset. Your brain doesn't always work real well, and then you're so belittled by the system in itself you can just check it off the list, this means nothing, this means nothing, this means nothing, this means nothing. If your rights are violated, oh well."

Calls to prosecuting attorney Lynn Ewing III were not immediately returned.

Bickel said in a later interview that he always takes into account what the victims have to say. However, he said for several reasons the court cannot always satisfy the victims' requests in every case.

"In general I rely on the prosecuting attorney and the defense attorney to come to an agreement that both the defense attorney and his client, the defendant, can live with as far as what happens to them. And, the prosecuting attorney can recommend as far as him knowing the strengths or weaknesses of his case, and basically that's kind of it. There are times when the prosecutor -- and this is not just Vernon County, this is my whole circuit -- the prosecutor will come to me and he'll say, 'I know this sounds terrible but if I can't get him to plead to this I've got so many problems that I may not be able to get anything, time has gone by and I've lost a witness,' there are different things.

"The unfortunate facts of life in the criminal justice system are, if there were not plea bargains and judges just said I'm not going to accept plea bargains, we would grind to a halt and we'd be backed up for four years instead of 10 months on things. And, I understand that doesn't help a victim because that case is the only case they have, but, it sometimes is an unfortunate situation that we have. Now, on significant cases I don't consider that at all, but, on more mundane and routine types of cases that certainly comes into play."

When asked about the victim or victims' family's right to be informed of upcoming events in a trial, Bickel said as far as he is involved victims always have the right to be present during the proceedings.

"From my standpoint they have the right to be in court anytime that there is something going on that effects the defendant. As far as the system works when there's plea bargains and that sort of thing I don't want to comment on that because I'm not current enough to know what's required prior to their court appearance."

"I'm going to always listen to what the victim has to say, I always share what the victim has to say. I may not necessarily go along with them, but they are heard."

Missouri crime victims' rights are located in article 1, section 32, of the Missouri Constitution and in chapter 595 of the Missouri Revised Statutes.

These can be viewed online at: www.moga.mo.gov/con

st/a01032.htm or www.moga.

mo.gov/statutes/c500-599/5950000209.htm.

Vernon County's local crime victim advocate, Peggy Schenker can be reached at (417) 667-4862. The Missouri Victim Assistance Network can be contacted at (800) 698-9199 and the Missouri Office for Victims of Crime can be reached at (866) 334-6682.