Christian County Prosecuting Attorney, Amy J. Fite announced today that 44th Judicial Circuit Judge John Moody set aside his Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law, and Order granting a new trial in the 2009 murder conviction of PAULA HALL, dob 7/6/1967 of Sparta, Missouri.

On June 29, 2011 Judge Moody vacated his judgment of June 9, 2011 after having heard evidence presented by Christian County Prosecuting Attorney, Amy J. Fite. The judge originally found that in 2009 the Christian County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office committed a discovery violation by failing to notify defense counsel of evidence that a witness had a pending probation violation.

In asking the Court to reconsider his finding that a discovery violation occurred, Christian County Prosecuting Attorney, Amy J. Fite presented the Court with the testimony of Christian County Circuit Clerk Barbara Stillings, Captain Bryan Gillman from the Christian County Jail, Greg Fahrlander of Probation and Parole, and Cindy Bates also of Probation and Parole. The evidence presented showed there was no pending probation violation at the time the witness testified. Additional evidence presented also showed that a violation report did not exist and the alleged discovery violation was likely the result of a simple scrivener’s error in the Court record.

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The Christian County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office will be hosting an open house today celebrate the retirement of our victim advocate and esteemed colleague Susan Asher. Please stop by from 2:30pm to 4:30pm to show your appreciation for the hard work and dedication Susan has given the citizens of Christian County over the past fourteen (14) years.

The Christian County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office is located on the first floor of the Christian County Justice Center at 110 W. Elm Street in Ozark, Missouri.

Christian County Prosecuting Attorney, Amy J. Fite announced today that PATRICK AYRES, dob: 07/09/1960 of Highlandville, Missouri plead guilty to the class C felony of stealing. The case was set to go to trial today in Taney County in front of Taney County Associate Circuit Judge Tony Williams. Prior to trial, the defendant announced his desire to plead guilty. The plea was without a plea agreement with the State.

PATRICK AYRES plead guilt to stealing from Sports Boat USA which is a business located in Ozark, MO. He admitted that while employed by Sport Boat USA as service manager he requested payment for two vendors. The two vendors were companies that he either owned by himself or with his family. He agreed with the State that he received money from Sport Boat USA without providing any thing of value in return.

Formal sentencing is set for September 15, 2011. Prior to sentencing, a sentencing assessement report will be prepared by the Missouri Department of Corrections. The class C felony of stealing carries a range of punishment of one (1) day to one (1) year in the Christian County Jail or one (1) year to seven (7) years in the Missouri Department of Corrections and/or a fine not to exceed five thousand (5,000) dollars.

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Christian County Prosecuting Attorney, Amy J. Fite announces that First Assistant Prosecuting Attorney, Donovan D. Dobbs has just completed training at the National Computer Forensic Institute (NCFI) in Hoover, Alabama. The NCFI is a partnership between the United States Secret Service, Department of Homeland Security, and the Alabama District Attorney’s Association to train state and local law enforcement, judges and prosecutors in computer forensics and digital evidence. Attendees must be nominated by the United States Secret Service to be eligible to attend the training. Mr. Dobbs was nominated by the Secret Service office in Springfield. He was one of 24 other prosecutors that were chosen out of 188 nominations. Nominations came from all over the United States.

In the week long training, prosecutors are taught not only how computers function but also how data can be retrieved from them. Once this data is retrieved, prosecutors are taught how to interpret the data for presentation in court.