News Conference

U.S. Attorney Todd Graves will be available at 1:30 p.m. today for comment and questions following this morning’s sentencing of Deborah Neal, the former Kansas City municipal judge who was sentenced to two years and four months for a fraud scheme that involved soliciting money from attorneys, including attorneys with cases in which she presided. Graves will be available on the front steps of the Charles Evans Whittaker Courthouse at 400 East 9th Street, Kansas City, Mo., 64106. A news release will be available at that time.

We ask you to observe that the information contained in this advisory is provided as a courtesy, to assist you in planning your coverage decisions, and is not in any way intended for release to the general public. Detailed information and comments will be made available following, and not prior to that time.

If you have any questions, please call Don Ledford, Public Affairs Officer, at (816) 426-4220.

Friday's Schedule

Kansas City:

• Ryan G. Prater, indicted for illegally possessing a firearm, change of plea at 9:15 a.m. in Courtroom 8C
• Sean K. Owens (St. Joseph, MO), indicted for illegally possessing a firearm, change of plea at 9:30 a.m. in Courtroom 7C
• Deborah A. Neal (KCMO), the former municipal judge who pled guilty to a fraud scheme that involved soliciting money from attorneys and others, will be sentenced at 10 a.m. in Courtroom 7B
• Andrew M. Schulze (Concordia, MO), who pled guilty to conspiracy to illegally import a chemical from Canada in order to manufacture and distribute more than $1 million worth of a date rape drug, will be sentenced at 10:45 a.m. in Courtroom 8C
• Chantez L. Grimmett, change of plea at 2 p.m. inCourtroom 7B

Grand jury is in session today, with returns expected this afternoon.

Nothing newsworthy to report in Springfield or Jefferson City.

News conference today

U.S. Attorney Todd Graves will announce a federal indictment in a significant criminal matter at 3 p.m. today, Thursday, Sept. 29, 2005. The press conference will be held in the main conference of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, located on the fifth floor of the Charles Evans Whittaker Courthouse at 400 East 9th Street, Kansas City, Mo., 64106. A news release and copies of the indictment will be available at that time.

We ask you to observe that the information contained in this advisory is provided as a courtesy, to assist you in planning your coverage decisions, and is not in any way intended for release to the general public. Detailed information and comments will be made available following, and not prior to that time.

If you have any questions, please call Don Ledford, Public Affairs Officer, at (816) 426-4220.

Thursday's Schedule

Kansas City:

• Stacey Jo Montgomery (Belton, MO), indicted for attempting to manufacture meth, change of plea at 9:15 a.m. in Courtroom 8C
• Xavier Lightfoot (KCMO), convicted at trial for conspiracy to murder a federal witness and conspiracy to rob a credit union, will be sentenced at 9:30 a.m. in Courtroom 7C
• James A. Shearin (Grandview, MO), who pled guilty to publishing an advertisement for child porn, will be sentenced at 10 a.m. in Courtroom 8C
• Chang King Wu and Hue Hien Chung (both of Chillicothe, MO), waiver of indictment and change of plea at 11 a.m. in Courtroom 7C
• Frankie L. Conley (KCMO), indicted for possession with intent to distribute meth, change of plea at 11 a.m. in Courtroom 8A
• John M. Moore (KCMO), indicted for distributing PCP, change of plea at 11:30 a.m. in Courtroom 8C
• Antoine M. Cain, change of plea at 1:30 p.m. in Courtroom 8A
• Leonard J. Smith, who pled guilty of being a felon in possession of a firearm, will be sentenced at 2 p.m. in Courtroom 7B

Springfield:

• Clint C. Morgan, who pled guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm, will be sentenced at 9 a.m.

Jefferson City:

• Dana Lynn Moore will be sentenced at 10 a.m.
• David Michael Hilgar, who pled guilty to illegally possessing firearms, will be sentenced at 11 a.m.
• Christinia R. Lowe (Columbia, MO), who pled guilty to purchasing a firearm for Richard Evans -- who committed suicide as he was being sought by law enforcement officers in connection witht he shooting death of a Columbia, Mo. police officer, will be sentenced at 1 p.m.
• Adrian Douglas Mundy (Camdenton, MO), who pled guilty to counterfeiting, will be sentenced at 2:30 p.m.

Wednesday's Schedule

Kansas City:

• Travis J. Swingle (KCMO), who pled guilty to conspiracy to illegally import a chemical from Canada in order to manufacture and distribute more than $1 million worth of an illegal date rape drug, will be sentenced at 8:45 a.m. in Courtroom 8C
• Mark T. Davis (Independence, MO), who pled guilty to receiving child porn, will be sentenced at 9:30 a.m. in Courtroom 8C
• Walter L. Morris will be sentenced at 9:30 a.m. in Courtroom 8B
• Todd M. Byrd, change of plea at 9:30 a.m. in Courtroom 7B
• Damon R. Washington (KCMO) will be sentenced at 10 a.m. in Courtroom 7C
• Xavier A. Cervantes (address unknown) will be sentenced at 10:15 a.m. in Courtroom 8C
• Rodney J. Taylor (KCMO) will be sentenced at 10:30 a.m. in Courtroom 7B
• Joshua M. Gautney (KCMO), indicted for conspiracy to distribute meth, change of plea at 10:30 a.m. in Courtroom 8B
• Kenneth Dale Vaughn (Independence, MO) will be sentenced at 11 a.m. in Courtroom 8C
• Richard S. Robinson (Turney City, MO), who pled guilty to being a marijuana user in possession of a firearm, will be sentenced at 1:30 p.m. in Courtroom 8B
• Brenda K. Winston (Kansas City, KS), who pled guilty to identity theft, will be sentenced at 2 p.m. in Courtroom 8B
• Monica Renee Rodriguez will be sentenced at 2:30 p.m. in Courtroom 8B

Springfield:

• Juan G. Limon-Gonzalez will be sentenced at 2 p.m. in Courtroom 1
• Doyle Eugene Goforth (Mountain Grove, MO), who pled guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm, will be sentenced at 3 p.m. in Courtroom 1
• William D. Carpenter, change of plea at 4 p.m. in Courtroom 1

Jefferson City:

• Edward Walter Kelly will be sentenced at 3 p.m.

Web woes

Due to the recent transition of our computer network to a new server, we've been unable to post press releases and other updates to our Web site. This is a temporary glitch that we hope to resolve today (worst case scenario, it could be a few days), but in the meantime we can still distribute press releases via e-mail. When we're able to post to the Web site again, we'll upload whatever news releases have been missed.

For the same reason, we're having some trouble receiving the daily court docket. We'll resume posting the docket to this blog as soon as this glitch is solved.

Note the RSS feed links over in the right hand column of the blog ... set up an automatic feed, and you won't have to keep returning to this site to find out whether we're back in business yet.

Trial for Webb City businessman

The trial for Keith McBride (Webb City, MO) has been rescheduled for the Jan. 9, 2006, criminal docket. McBride, indicted for destroying his business, Coin Op, in an arson fire, was originally scheduled to go to trial on Oct. 24, 2005.

Here is our news release announcing the indictment.

Monday's Schedule

Kansas City:

• Shawna D. Drake (Independence, MO), who pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute meth, will be sentenced at 10 a.m. in Courtroom 7B
• Patricia Patrick (Lamont, MO), the former postmaster at the Calhoun, Mo., post office who pled guilty to embezzlment, will be sentenced at 10:30 a.m. in Courtroom 6D
• Denise K. Stottlemyre (Trenton, MO), the former Green Hills Regional Planning Commission official who pled guilty to public corruption charges, will be sentenced at 11:30 a.m. in Courtroom 7B
• Nathaniel C. Gadson (KCMO), who pled guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm, will be sentenced at 1:30 p.m. in Courtroom 8A
• Marilyn a. Wilkes (KCMO), who pled guilty to conspiracy to defraud a St. Joseph, Mo., business and a money laundering conspiracy, will be sentenced at 2 p.m. in Courtroom 7B

Nothing newsworthy to report in Springfield or Jefferson City.