Wednesday, October 21, 2020

Joplin man to Jasper County Sheriff: I'm innocent- that child pornography was downloaded on my wife's phone

 

Three hours after the Jasper County Sheriff's Office posted the accompanying photo of Jerry D. Vowell, who is under investigation for possessing and distributing child pornography, the suspect posted a reply in which he cops to a parole violation, but says the child porn was on his wife's phone.

No wonder they're getting a divorce.

Not that it would be the first time Vowell has had trouble with women.

Vowell, 33, Joplin, is scheduled to go to trial in February on seven felony charges, two of which involve him allegedly hitting two women with closed fists during two separate burglaries.

Apparently, he doesn't have problems with all women. Three days after the Joplin Police Department arrested Vowell on felony propery damage charges 18 days ago, Newton County Circuit Court Judge Anna Christine Rhoades released him on his own recognizance with the condition that he seek drug treatment at the Lazarus House within three days.








And she has not been the only female judge who has approved reducing Vowell's bond and allowing him to vouch for himself that he would show for his court appearances.

Jasper County Circuit Court records show a February 2021 trial date is scheduled on seven felony charges, including three counts of assault, two counts of burglary and single counts of resisting arrest and property damage, stemming from a Webb City Police Department arrest.

The Joplin Police Department arrested him 18 days ago on a felony property damage charge.

Vowell was sentenced to six years in prison May 16, 2016, after pleading guilty to two felonies, unlawful use of a weapon and forgery, following a plea agreement with the Jasper County Prosecuting Attorney's office, with the sentence being suspended and Vowell agreeing to participate in a long-term drug treatment program.

His probation was revoked following his May 2018 arrest by the Webb City Police Department and he began serving his sentence.

Court records show that during most of the hearings on Vowell's case, he was represented by his attorney while he was incarcerated. That changed close to the end of the year and Vowell appeared in person December 9 before Judge Gayle Crane in Jasper County Circuit Court. Vowell made an oral motion to be released on his own recognizance so he could enter Lazarus House. So naturally, Crane released him on his own recognizance.

By his own admission in the post on the Jasper County Sheriff's Office website, in which he also accused his wife of joining him in committing a felony by using meth.









The allegations against Vowell in the Webb City case are detailed in the probable cause statement:

On 5/5/2018 at 0143, officer responded to calls of service for a male subject entering homes unlawfully and assaulting residents/victims inside the homes, located at 1611 Jacee Circle and 1655 Donna Ruth in Webb City.

At 1611 Jacee, the victim said she was awakened to a noise. When she went into the living room to see what was going on, she observed the male suspect going through her wallet, what appeared to be attempting to steal money or debit/credit cards. 

The male suspect observed her, walked at her in a fast pace and started hitting her with closed fists to the face.

She fought back, the male suspect ran off dropping the wallet and went out of a window of the home running south.

(The victim) sustained minor injuries on the face and head during the assault. Later (she) pointed out a pack of cigarettes laying in the home that the male suspect had dropped during the altercation. I seized the pack of cigarettes, putting it into evidence.

At the second address, 1655 Donna Ruth, the female victim was sitting in front bedroom by herself. She heard a noise, turned and was assaulted by the male suspect, with him hitting her with closed fists. She screamed. The male suspect stopped hitting her and walked out of the room toward the front door.

The male victim heard her screaming and went to her aid. When he encountered the male suspect near the front door. He said he fought with the male suspect at the front door and in the front yard of the home.

During the fight, the shirt was ripped off of the male suspect. The suspect then ran from the home prior to police arrival. I later seized the suspect's shirt, placing it into evidence,

(The female victim) was bleeding from the mouth, an injury that was sustained during the assault. (The male victim) sustained minor injuries from the assault, scratches on his right arm, also having a mark/injury on the right side of his head sustained from the assault. 

Jerry Vowell was later stopped as matching the suspect description. 

According to the probable cause statement, the photo was shown to all of the victims who identified Vowell as the assailant.

Vowell created more problems when he was confronted by officers.

Once contacted by police, he became aggressive resisting police by refusing to obey commands to comply, backing away, stiffing his body, pulling away and biting at officers. 

Once he was identified (by the victims), he was placed under arrest.

During the transport, he broke out a window in the Webb City police vehicle by kicking or ramming his head and breaking the window. He then hung out of the window attempting to escape. Corporal Linder pulled over at St. Louis/Natalie to get control of Mr. Vowell. During this incident, Mr. Vowell damaged the rear portion of the Webb City police unit by ramming his head into the back portion of the vehicle causing damage to the police vehicle.

He made threats to kill one Joplin police officer during the contact at St. Louis/Natalie.

When he was transported to the Jasper County Jail, at the jail he made threats to harm one of the Jasper County Jail staff member by saying he was going to kill him later on.

In his message on the Jasper County Sheriff's Office Facebook page, Vowell defended himself, but admitted to at least one transgression.  

My name is Jerry Vowell and am who you are looking for. I am 100 percent guilty of the parole violation, however, not your pending investigation. I'm willing to cooperate wherever I can, but due to the alleged investigation, will not come in person.

My Wife and I (name omitted) are currently in the middle of a divorce. We have had a whole lot of issues between the two of us for the better part of a year. We both began using meth together in or around October of last year. 

If you will look at her facebook posts from the last few days, it will show her trying to hide the fact that she owns a phone. One post by her mother, (name omitted) stated that (my wife) needed a new phone because she lost hers out of her pocket. 

A post from (my wife) herself states that she needed a new phone because hers was broken. She seems to be hiding the fact that she has a phone. Her phone is currently working and has time on it. I was in jail from October 3rd to October 13th and it was around this same time that rumors began to touch my ears. 

Before the third, I was kicked out of her residence and I had talked to police. I was told not to return. She has been in full position of everything in that home since that incident. If child porn existed, and if it was turned into police, and if it was said to be mine, the fact that (she) had possession of it would tell me that she is the one who downloaded it from her phone. I believe police need to retrieve this phone from her home. I called it and her sister's husband, (name omitted) answered. 

If child porn existed, actual NUDE children, or children performing sexual acts, it would have been downloaded from her phone that is now being hidden from police. The phone number in question is (omitted) and is a sprint carrier in (my wife's) own name.

No comments:

Post a Comment