Felony Charges Re-filed in Previously Dismissed Case
Felony Charges Re-filed in Previously Dismissed Case
By Mike Scott
A previously-dismissed felony case has been re-opened by Clark County’s new Prosecuting Attorney, Holly Conger. The case was investigated by Kahoka Police Chief Bill Conger.
Michael Cassady, Sr., 46, of Kahoka was arrested on January 8, 2015, and charged with Assault 1st Degree – Serious Physical Injury, (Class A Felony), Burglary – 1st Degree (Class B Felony) and Theft/Stealing Any Controlled Substance (Class C Felony). He is being held on a $100,000 cash only bond in the Clark County Jail. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for January 22.
According to the Probable Cause Statement, Cassady is accused of entering a house on N. Walnut Street in Kahoka during the early morning hours of November 5, 2012. The victim reported that her dogs woke her up, around 2:30am, and she discovered Michael Cassady, Jr. sitting on the couch, and that Michael Cassady, Sr., came in the back door.
According to the report, she “ran them out of her house.”
Around 4:30am, she woke up with what she thought was a nosebleed, and went to the bathroom and could not get the bleeding stopped. She was taken to the ambulance garage by a friend, then transported to the hospital where she was admitted with a skull fracture and fractured eye socket, and required several staples to close the cut in her head.
She noticed that her bottle of Oxycodone 30mg pills, 96 in total, was missing from her right front pocket.
Later that day, Cassady was admitted to Keokuk Area Hospital with a drug overdose. Conger subpoenaed the records and blood, which was later confirmed by the Missouri State Highway Patrol lab to contain Oxycodone.
On August 5, 2013, Conger interviewed Cassady’s estranged wife Rickie Cassady, and received a written statement from her that Cassady had told her that he wanted to go to California because of legal problems, and that he had broken into the victim’s home to steal her pills. He stated that the lady was waking up and he hit her in the head to knock her out and left.
“The case was previously dismissed by (former Prosecutor) John Moon because of a marital privilege issue,” Conger said.
Marital priveledge allows one spouse not to testify about communication wth the other spouse, in certain circumstances.
Conger added that new information has become available in the case.
“I think we can get him this time,” she added.
Conger is settling into her new role as prosecutor well.
“Things are going very well, “ she said. “I’m so glad John Moon brought me in four months ago. It gave me a chance to get used to everything.”
Conger’s plans are to work with both the public and law enforcement in a positive way.
“I don’t want anyone to feel like they can’t call here and get some kind of answer,” she said.
Other big cases on the docket include Chad Harris, accused of Class C felony drug possession and two counts of Dist/Del/Manf/Produce Or Attempt To Or Possess W/Intent To Dist/Del/Manf/Produce A Controlled Substance (Class B felony); and Mathew Coop, accused six Class C felony charges of Tampering with a Motor Vehicle in connection with the stealing of several vehicles last summer.
