Driver who hit, killed Joplin High School senior may be headed to prison

In two months, 10 years will have passed since Joplin High School senior Jamison Alexander was struck by two vehicles and killed while walking along Junge Blvd. near Cunningham Avenue.

The first vehicle, a van, clipped Alexander with its mirror. The driver, a 17-year-old, stopped the van, jumped out, and ran away.Before he was able to do so, a second vehicle, a Chevy Blazer, ran over Alexander and drove away without stopping.

Alexander was taken to the hospital in critical condition, doctors determined he was brain dead, and he was taken off life support

Hundreds jammed into the Joplin Family Worship Center a few days later, including friends from school and those who knew him from the years he had worked at Dillon's Supermarket.

The Joplin Police Department later arrested Travis Scott Wyrick, 18, Joplin, and charged him with a felony, leaving the scene of an accident. Those charges were later dropped. A civil suit filed against Wyrick by the Alexander family against Wyrick was also dismissed.

But Wyrick's problems with the law have continued steadily through the years and next week, he may be sent to prison.

Or considering how many times he has escaped that fate in the past, he may not.

A probation violation hearing is scheduled for 9 a.m. Monday, November 17, before Judge David Dally in Jasper County Circuit Court. Wyrick was placed on probation after pleading guilty October 9, 2012, to a felony charge of receiving stolen property. He was sentenced to five years in prison and ordered to undergo long term drug treatment. On December 11, 2013, he was released from prison and placed on probation.

It did not take long for Wyrick to run afoul of the law.

On March 26, the Jasper County Sheriff's Department arrested him on a charg of tampering with a motor vehicle. That case is still pending with a motions hearing scheduled for December 29.

A probation violation report was filed, but not until June 25, nearly three months after the arrest. Jasper County Circuit Court online records indicate Judge Dally suspended Wyrick's probation and issued a warrant for his arrest, setting bond at $20,000.

Bond was posted July 7 and since that time, Wyrick was arrested August 23 for possession of a controlled substance, another case which is pending with a hearing scheduled November 20 before Judge Richard Copeland, and the Joplin Police Department arrested him October 11 on a felony charge of burglary in the first degree.

In the meantime, Wyrick's probation violation hearings have been scheduled and continued three times.

Even before the 2012 tampering arrest, Wyrick was in constant trouble with the law, according to Jasper County Circuit Court records.

On May 16, 2007, Wyrick pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor assault charge and was sentenced to one year n prison. The sentence was suspended and he was placed on unsupervised probation for one year.

The next year, he pleaded guilty to felony burglary and stealing a motor vehicle charges and was sentenced to four years in prison

Less than two years later,on August 5, 2010, he pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of a firearm and was sentenced to four years in prison, then placed on probation, though that only lasted a couple of months before he pleaded guilty to the tampering charge.

Wyrick's crimes have not been confined to Missouri. Ottawa County, Oklahoma District Court records show Wyrick pleaded guilty to unauthorized use of a stolen vehicle and possession of a stolen credit card. The charge was filed November 26, 2008,

An outstanding warrant has been issued for Wyrick on that charge, according to court records.

The Joplin Police Department arrested Wyrick October 7 as a fugitive out of state. Despite the pending charges against Wyrick, including accusations of multiple probation violations, Judge Copeland set bond at $3,500 and two days later Wyrick was back on the street.
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