Federal judge: Jarub Baird to be held without bond on meth conspiracy, money laundering charges

Ten years ago tonight on an icy county road just outside of Carthage, a Mazda containing four teenagers and traveling at 110 miles per hour, slammed into a utility pole knocking it over, continued through a barbed wire fence and came to rest in a snow-covered field.

The accident claimed the life of 15-year-old Hannah Smallwood, who was sitting in the back seat and severely injured another passenger. A third passenger, after noticing the speedometer reading, buckled her seat belt.

She was the only one of the four who was wearing a seat belt.

The driver, Jarub Baird, 17, suffered only minor injuries and seemed more interested in the thrill of the experience he had just had rather than the well-being of his passengers, according to testimony at his trial in June 2008.

A witness saw Baird talking on his cell phone and telling a friend, "Dude, we flew man. Seriously, dude."

While Baird's lawyer, Brian Glades, argued that his client was in shock, events that have happened since that time indicate the reaction was a normal one for Baird.

Baird, who had not been drinking before the accident, according to investigators, was tried for first degree manslaughter and first degree assault. The jury opted to convict him on the lesser charges of involuntary manslaughter and second degree assault.

Baird's problems with the law did not begin that night one decade ago and did not end with the jury's verdict.

Just four days after the death of Hannah Smallwood, Baird, who had apparently been charged with a more serious violation, pleaded guilty to a defective equipment charge in Jasper County Circuit Court in connection with an incident that occurred September 25, 2006, according to court records.

Just a little more than a month later on January 12, 2007, as he awaited trial, Baird was arrested by the Carthage Police Department and charged with felony distribution of marijuana charges.

Baird was picked up May 25, 2007, by the Jasper County Sheriff's Department for another violation that Glades was able to get pleaded down to a defective equipment charge.

After the Stone County jury convicted Baird for involuntary manslaughter and second degree assault, he was allowed to remain free on bond and was arrested a couple of weeks later by the Carthage Police Department on a charge of receiving stolen property in connection with thefts of electronic equipment from vehicles.

There is no record in Jasper County Circuit Court of that charge.

Judge Gayle Crane sentenced Baird to the maximum on the two charges in connection with the December 8, 2006, accident- four years for manslaughter and three years for assault, to be served consecutively.

Baird was kept off the streets for nearly five years, but when he was released in 2013 he was on probation and could have been sent back to finish his sentence if he committed any more crimes.

The Jasper County Sheriff's Office arrested Baird at 7th and Schifferdecker in Joplin for driving while intoxicated July 13, 2014, after he pulled into a store parking lot filled with customers driving at a high rate of speed and was unable to perform field sobriety tests. His blood alcohol content was .118, according to the probable cause statement.

Only 11 days earlier, the Sheriff's Office arrested Baird for driving 106 miles per hour in a 70 mile per hour zone, according to the ticket. He eventually pleaded guilty to a defective equipment charge. He was sentenced to serve 60 days in the county jail for DWI and 30 days for the defective equipment, with the sentences to be served concurrently.

On March 7, 2016, Jasper County Deputy Nolan Murray arrested Baird at a traffic stop at the intersection of Fairview and Baker Boulevard in Carthage for driving while revoked. He pleaded gulty to a defective equipment charge and was fined $175.

Baird's arrest have also extended outside of the Jasper County area. Court records show he pleaded guilty June 23 in Sunrise Beach Municipal Court to passing a vehicle on the right and to having defective equipment and was fined $467.50.

A federal grand jury indicted Baird last week for his alleged role in a million dollar meth conspiracy. He is being held behind bars as he awaits trial.

During a hearing today in U. S. District Court in Kansas City, Judge Sarah W. Hays, ruled that Baird will be held without bond as he awaits trial.

The U. S. Attorney noted the following:

Defendant has three prior felony convictions for involuntary manslaughter, assault second degree and distributing not more than 5 grams of marijuana. The involuntary manslaughter charge arose as the result of a car accident caused by excessive speed; defendant was the driver of the car. Defendant was sentenced to four years and three years in prison to run consecutively. He was released in April of 2013, but returned to custody in August of 2014 for a new law violation (DWI). He completed his sentence on August 23, 2015. Evidence presented during the detention hearing indicated that within a matter of days after completing his sentence, defendant became involved is this drug conspiracy

For a while at least, Jarub Baird will remain behind bars.