2 Joplin robbery cases dismissed

Jeff Lehr, The Joplin Globe, Mo.
·1 min read

Mar. 19—Victims' unwillingness to pursue prosecution led to dismissal Thursday of charges on defendants in two Joplin robbery cases.

Zechariah A. Patton, 31, of Joplin, was scheduled for a preliminary hearing in Jasper County Circuit Court on charges of first-degree robbery and armed criminal action. The hearing was scuttled when the charges were dismissed due to a lack of cooperation on the part of the victim, according to the prosecutor's office.

Patton was accused of robbing Lonnie Spells, 58, of Joplin, on Nov. 3 in the 1800 block of East Campbell Parkway by displaying a handgun and demanding the money Spells owed him. Spells told police that he offered to pay Patton $100 of the $150 he owed him, but the offer did not satisfy the defendant, who raised the gun in his hand and robbed Spells of all $300 he had on him, according to a probable-cause affidavit.

The prosecutor's office also dismissed a first-degree robbery charge against Sharlene T. Parks, 27, of Joplin, again citing a lack of cooperation on the part of the alleged victim.

The charge on Parks pertained to a shoplifting incident on March 16, 2019, at the Target store on East Seventh Street in Joplin. Parks was accused of displaying a knife in a threatening manner to a store employee who stopped co-defendant Nakota Ortner as she was leaving the store without having paid for some merchandise.

The robbery charge filed on Ortner in the case was dismissed in January 2020 when no one from the business showed up to testify against her at a preliminary hearing.

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