Among cases on Thursday in Division One of Grundy County Circuit Court.
Trenton resident Randall Dale Kitchen changed his plea to guilty on a felony charge of abandonment of a corpse. Sentencing is scheduled for April 28th. Police reported a body was discovered in Kitchen’s home in western Trenton on July 4th.
In court on March 2nd, the defense attorney’s request for bond modification was sustained, but it includes special conditions. He was released on his own recognizance. An indictment on Kitchen was filed in November, and he was then held in custody without bond. In another case, a charge of felony stealing was dismissed by the state on March 2nd.
Bloomfield resident Machael Rae Glass waived formal arraignment and pleaded not guilty in two cases. One involves felony driving while revoked or suspended, and the other case involves felony second-degree burglary. The cases were continued until April 28th.
A resident of Blue Springs, Priscilla Hertzler, pleaded guilty to a Grundy County forgery charge from last July 25th. The imposition of sentence was suspended and Hertzler was placed on five years supervised probation. Conditions include that she enter and successfully complete a mental health/substance abuse evaluation program at the Healing House of Kansas City and follow all recommendations. The court ordered Hertzler to pay restitution of $1,575 and donate $300 to the law enforcement fund.
Several defendants had probation violation hearings on Thursday in the courtroom.
Tesse Janelle Carman of Chillicothe admitted to a violation. Her probation was revoked and she was sentenced to seven years with the Missouri Department of Corrections. Her original charge involved possession of a controlled substance in June of 2021.
A resident of Humphreys, Michelle Dalton, saw her probation revoked when she admitted a violation. Dalton was sentenced to a three-year term with the Missouri Department of Corrections. Her original charge from April of last year was possession of a controlled substance.
St. Joseph resident Kellie Sue Holtman admitted to a violation and saw her probation revoked. Holtman was sentenced to seven years with the Missouri Department of Corrections. The court suspended the execution of the sentence and placed her on five years of supervised probation. Conditions include successful completion of the Healing House program in Kansas City. She’s also to make restitution of $363. The original charges involved two counts of stealing from January 2020.
Three other defendants saw their probation get extended by one year after each admitted to violations.
The court ordered Melissa Brill of Galt, to have employment of 15 hours per week or a combination of education, community service, and work that totals 15 hours weekly. She also was told to follow recommendations of the mental health treatment. Her original cases were two counts of drug possession in October 2019.
When probation was extended for Heather Gayl Michael of Trenton, the judge requested she have court-ordered detention sanctions with the Missouri Department of Corrections. Her original charge was 2nd-degree domestic assault in July of 2018.
Probation also was extended by one year for Robert Joe Singer of Hale. His original charges in Grundy County are from November 2021: driving while intoxicated, persistent offender, and misdemeanor possession of drugs and drug paraphernalia.
Mercer County Associate Circuit Court Judge Matthew Krohn presided over “Law Day” in Grundy County Circuit Court.
