Judicial system created situation that put Joplin police officers' lives at risk Friday night

How did a Burlingame, Kansas man get to the point where he allegedly fired shots at Joplin police officers this morning?

Court records indicate Adam Everett Kastler, 35, also reported as being a Joplin resident in some accounts, has a long history of criminal activity and is awaiting trial in Newton County on multiple felonies.

The felonies Kastler is accused of committing during the past two weeks, including shooting a Joplin man and forcibly stealing a vehicle and shooting at the officers during the pursuit, all occurred after a Newton County judge revoked his bond on those felonies after he violated the terms of the bond by removing a GPS tracking device. And that report came five days after he was arrested on yet another weapons charge.

The Joplin Police Department has been searching for Kastler as a suspect in a February 7 shooting at 909 S. Monroe that sent a Joplin man to the hospital, though he was reported in stable condition.

Officers found Kastler at 11:18 p.m. Friday when they tried to stop a white Chevrolet Tahoe at 2315 W. 7th Street, according to a department news release.

During the stop, Kastler forcefully stole the vehicle from the owner and fled the scene from officers. During the pursuit, Kastler fired multiple gunshots at pursuing Joplin Police Officers at multiple points in the pursuit. The pursuit entered Kansas and the suspect vehicle crashed west of Galena. Kastler was taken into custody without further incident and transferred to Kansas law enforcement officials.

The news release noted that Kastler had active felony warrants out of Newton County and a Joplin Muncipal Court warrant for failure to appear.

There's a bit more to the story.

On December 5, 2021, a Newton County deputy attempted to make a traffic stop on a black 2006 Chevrolet pickup on Greenwood Drive near Alpaca Drive in Joplin. The vehicle had expired Arkansas plates.

From the probable cause statement:

When Deputy Cabrera initiated his emergency equipment, the driver fled in the truck at a high rate of speed. Deputy Cabrera noted that the truck was driving in excess of 70 MPH in a 35 MPH zone. 

The driver hied to pass a 2001 Dodge pickup on the roadway and struck that vehicle causing it to roll. The Dodge was driven by Dustin Martin and contained four minors. Deputy Cabrera was able to take the male driver of the 2006 Chevrolet into custody at that time. 

However, immediately after handcuffing the suspect, Deputy Cabrera was drawn away to screams for help coming from an injured party in the 2001 Dodge. When Deputy Cabrera came back to attend to the handcuffed subject, that person had fled and was not located. 

A witness said they saw him jumping a fence with the handcuffs still on. Replacement cost for a pair of department issue handcuffs is $50. One of the minors, L.M. sustained injuries and was transported to a local hospital by ambulance. The full extent of L.M.'s injuries are unknown at this time. The Dodge appears to be a total loss and is valued at $10,000. 

The black 2006 Chevrolet was found to be stolen out of Joplin Police Department and was valued at $1,000. 

Inside of the truck, Deputy Cabrera located a Bersa Thunder .380 semi-automatic pistol which was found to be stolen out of Carthage Police Department. The .380 semi-automatic pistol is valued at $350.

Inside of the truck, I located a piece of paper which turned out to be the bottom section of a citation from the Burlingame, Kansas Police Department with the name Adam Kastler in the signature box. 

I searched images of Adam Kastler and compared them to Deputy Cabrera's body worn camera footage as well as footage obtained from Downstream Casino Resort and the driver of the stolen 2006 Chevrolet who escaped is unquestionably Adam Kastler. 

Kastler is a multiple time convicted felon with his first conviction being on 09-06-2006 out of Lyon County, Kansas for "Burglary of a Motor Vehicle/Aircraft."

The Newton County Prosecuting Attorney's office filed the following charges: Assault in the 2nd degree, resisting arrest, possession of firearms unlawful for certain persons, three counts of stealing, leaving the scene of an accident, escape from custody and property damage in the first degree

A warrant was issued for Kastler's arrest with a stipulation of no bond. He was arrested in early January 2022, was arraigned, pleaded not guilty and a bond reduction hearing was scheduled for January 18. Kastler represented himself at the hearing and Judge Anna Christine Rhoades lowered the bond to a $35,000 surety bond.

That still wasn't low enough to put Kastler on the streets, so another bond reduction hearing was held and the bond for Kastler, who this time was represented by an attorney, was further lowered to $10,000 surety, with conditions including the wearing of a GPS tracking device.

Three days later, Kastler posted bond.

On April 18, 2022, a Joplin Police Department officer responded to a possible larceny in progress at 3502 S. Range Line.

From the probable cause statement:

A witness stated she saw a male in an older blue Chevrolet truck attempting to steal wood from a construction site. The witness pointed out the truck to officers as it was parked directly south of the construction site. 

Adam Kastler was contacted as the sole occupant of a blue 1993 Chevrolet pickup truck at 3415 S. Texas Ave., Joplin, Newton County, Missouri. Upon contact with Kastler, I could see a bag of suspected marijuana inside the truck directly next to where Kastler was seated. 

After a probable cause search of the vehicle, two bags containing suspected marijuana, one weighing 61 grams and the other weighing 7 grams, were found. 

A loaded Taurus G2c .40 caliber handgun was also found. Kastler admitted to being a convicted felon and his criminal history shows that he was convicted of burglary (felony) in Lyon County, Kansas on 09/06/2006. 

After a felony weapons charge was filed against Kastler, a warrant was issued for his arrest with his bond on the new charge set at $50,000 surety, though online court records indicate Judge Rhoades did not believe Kastler was likely to appear for court hearings

After an April 27 fax report from Four States Electronic Monitoring and Tracking that Kastler was in violation of the requirement that he submit to 24-hour GPS monitoring, Judge Rhoades revoked his bond.

On June 6, the preliminary hearing for Kastler on his earlier felony charges was held. The judge was there, the prosecuting attorney was there, Kastler's lawyer was there, but Kastler was nowhere in sight.

No hearings have been held in Kastler's Newton County cases since June 6.

Eight months later, he allegedly shot a Joplin man and last night, according to the Joplin Police Department news release, he violently stole a vehicle, shot at JPD officers and finally, through no help from the system that allowed him to remain free, Adam Kastler is sitting in the Cherokee County, Kansas Jail.

***

A MESSAGE TO READERS

 Consider supporting the Turner Report/Inside Joplin/Inside Joplin Obituaries with a voluntary subscription or with a contribution at one of the PayPal buttons below or by sending your contribution to Randy Turner, 2306 E. 8th, Apt. A, Joplin, MO 64801.

Payment options

Option 1 : $30.00 USD - yearly Option 2 : $3.00 USD - monthly Option 3 : $1.00 USD - weekly