Neosho man sentenced to six years for tampering with a victim

(From the Newton County Prosecuting Attorney's Office)

A Neosho man was sentenced to six years in prison by Judge Gregory Stremel of the 40th Judicial Circuit for tampering with a victim in a felony prosecution. 

John Martin Hamilton, Jr., 46, was found guilty by a McDonald County jury on February 16, 2022, after just thirty-five minutes of deliberation. 

The case stems from a June 18, 2021, phone call that Hamilton made while in custody at the Newton County Jail on a felony domestic assault charge. 

In that recorded call, Hamilton offered the victim of his assault $500 in exchange for dropping charges.

 “Mr. Hamilton will spend every single day of his six-year sentence in the Missouri Department of Corrections. The law violated by the defendant is one of very few where there is no parole and the sentence rendered by Judge Stremel will be the true sentence the defendant serves,” said Newton County Prosecuting Attorney William Lynch. 

“Our Assistant Prosecutor, Sarah Crites, did a great job securing this conviction and we are all pleased to see justice served.” 

This case was investigated by the Newton County Sheriff’s Office in conjunction with the Prosecuting Attorney’s Office and prosecuted by Sarah Crites and William Lynch.