Change of plea hearing set for Webb City man on kidnapping charge

A Webb City man is expected to plead guilty to kidnapping charges, according to a notice filed today in U. S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri.

The change of plea hearing for James B. Gibson, 41, is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 18 in Springfield.

Gibson and five other area residents were indicted in July 2021 for their involvement in a kidnapping and murder conspiracy connected to the death of Michael James Hall, Joplin, whose decomposing body was discovered during the execution of a search warrant at 3517 Cherry Road July 28, 2020.

The search warrant was executed after the Joplin Police Department and Newton County Sheriff's Office arrested one of the five people who were indicted, Freddie Lewis Tilton, 50, Joplin, following a two-hour standoff at that address.

The indictment alleges Tilton shot Hall in the head, after Amy Kay Thomas, 40, Webb City, had cut him repeatedly with a knife and Gibson, 39, beat him with a club.

At the time, Tilton was a suspect in a second violent kidnapping.

In addition to Gibson, Tilton and Thomas, the others who were indicted were Lawrence William Vaughan, aka "Scary Larry," 51, Neosho, Russell Eugene Hurtt, 51, Joplin, and Carla Jo Ward, 47, Joplin.

Court records indicate murder charges against Gibson have been dismissed. The remaining charges are kidnapping and unlawful transport of firearms.

If the hearing goes as anticipated, Gibson will be the first of the six co-defendants to plead guilty.