Two suspects in a late-December murder case in Shannon County have had their cases bound over to circuit court.
In January, a no-bond warrant was issued for Patrick L. Paul, 26, on charges of second-degree murder, stealing a motor vehicle and stealing, all other property. The charges are the result of an investigation into the shooting death of William Stucker, 70, of Eminence, believed to have likely taken place Dec. 26 at Stucker's home.
Paul is scheduled for arraignment on Monday in Shannon County before Presiding 37th Circuit Judge Steven Privette. Court records show he has entered a not guilty plea and been appointed Public Defender Thomas Flack as his attorney.
Paul was arrested Jan. 8 and has been in jail since; court records show he is now being held in Carter County. The records do not list a city of residence for Paul, but the pickup truck he allegedly stole during the homicide was found to have been sold by Paul to another man on Dec. 28 in Kansas City, Mo.
On Dec. 31, after the truck was entered into law enforcement databases as stolen, it was found in the possession of Kelly G. Marks, 41, Olathe, Kan., who said he bought it from Paul a few days prior for about $500. Surveillance camera footage appeared to show the transaction took place on Dec. 28 at a gas station in Kansas City. Marks was arrested, charged with receiving stolen property and held on $25,000 bond until Feb. 27, when he pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 51 days in jail with credit for time served.
It is alleged that Richard M. King-Romero, 40, charged with second-degree murder and stealing a motor vehicle, was the shooter during the murder. King-Romero's city of residence is also not shown in court documents that indicate he was served a no-bond warrant on Jan. 10 by an officer with the Nampa, Idaho, police department.
King-Romero's preliminary hearing was initially set for May 13 before Privette, also in Shannon County. Court records show the defendant's case was to be presided over by Privette after a request for a change of judge, but this week, Privette requested a new judge be assigned to the case due to a grand jury indictment. The defendant has entered a not-guilty plea and is represented by Attorney Bethany Turner, the records note.
On Dec. 29, according to a probable cause statement submitted to prosecutors, the Shannon County Sheriff's Department requested assistance from the Missouri State Highway Patrol regarding a man found dead near the driveway of his home, with apparent gunshot wounds to the head and torso and .38-caliber bullet casings found near the body. An autopsy showed he had a gunshot wound to the head and another to the torso, reported investigator Cpl. Paul Wells of the patrol's Division of Drug and Crime Control.
Stucker's home appeared to have been searched for items to steal and the victim's vehicle was missing. A witness later recalled to Wells seeing a suspicious vehicle travel down a county road past their house earlier that week, and about an hour later saw it again, when it appeared to be chasing the victim's vehicle at a high rate of speed in the direction of Highway 19. The witness estimated the date to be Dec. 26 or 27.
On Jan. 3 investigators were able to track transactions made with the victim's debit card, and they reportedly showed it was used around 10 a.m. on Dec. 27 at a convenience store in Sedalia, and surveillance footage from the store shows Paul driving the victim's vehicle.
Using that information, a law enforcement canvas of surveillance cameras along routes that could have been traveled from Eminence to the Kansas City area was conducted, and reportedly showed Stucker's vehicle at about 7:12 p.m. Dec. 26 in Salem, Mo., then Rolla, then Vienna, where Paul allegedly got out of it, entered a store to make a purchase, and left in the same vehicle.
Wells added in his report the timeline and locations of the sightings left little to no doubt Paul was a perpetrator of the murder and theft, with no extra time for the suspect to have come into possession of the vehicle any other way.
The probable cause statement filed by Wells in King-Romero's case goes into further detail about the alleged incident, including that Paul told law enforcement he and King-Romero went to Stucker's home after they were told by King-Romero's girlfriend that Stucker was a sex offender.
Paul reportedly told the investigator that, after they arrived at the victim's home, he was nervous and thought King-Romero might assault Stucker or steal from him, and spoke with Stucker at the front door of the house before the two men walked toward the driveway.
Paul reportedly saw King-Romero take a .38-caliber pistol from his pocket and shoot Stucker while they were in the yard, and was told by the other suspect to go into the victim's house and start loading his property into King-Romero's pickup truck.
Paul said he also believed Stucker was still alive as King-Romero spoke with him as he was lying on the ground, law enforcement reported, and added that he was searching for keys to the victim’s truck and King-Romero told him to check the top of Stucker's refrigerator, where he found them. Paul reportedly said he believed Stucker had told King where the keys were.
Paul told law enforcement he heard three gunshots total and after they had burglarized Stucker's house, the pair left, with Paul driving Stucker's pickup and King-Romero driving his own.
