Top-viewed stories chronicle year of controversy, change

Readers pick of top stories

By CHRIS CLINE
Daily Journal Staff Writer

If there was one theme that was more prominent than any other in 2008 it was change. Change in leadership, change in the economy, change in how people go about everyday life. This year was shaped by change, and those were the stories that got the most attention at the Daily Journal’s Web site.

As soon as the first day of the year rolled over, change and controversy were on the way. An incident during the wee morning hours on New Year’s Day led to the political demise of State Rep. Brad Robinson, D-Bonne Terre.

Robinson and his wife, Tara, were charged in connection with an incident in which a pedestrian was struck while walking along Raider Road early New Year’s Day.

Robinson was charged with a Class D felony for leaving the scene of an accident. His wife, Tara, was charged with the misdemeanor offense of making a false police report. As part of a plea agreement, Tara Robinson pleaded guilty to the Class B misdemeanor count of making a false declaration. She was placed on two years of bench probation and ordered to complete 60 hours of community service within six months.

Brad Robinson’s case is still pending.

According to the probable cause statement, Tara Robinson originally told police she was driving when the pedestrian was struck. However, surveillance footage taken in the nearby North County High School parking lot showed the truck pulling into the parking lot and the driver and a passenger switching places. Passengers in the truck later said Brad Robinson was the driver at the time of the accident.

Robinson eventually withdrew his name for re-election to his state representative seat. The surveillance video from the North County parking lot drew 21,288 hits on the Daily Journal’s Web site, the most of the year. Another story about the Robinson incident received the fifth most hits of the year with 9,654.

Residents are always interested in the weather and related closings and cancellations. This year the Daily Journal provided up-to-date closings and cancellations on its Web site. The hard work paid off as news alerts with cancellations and closings received the second highest number of hits on the Web site for the year with 12,183.

In June, a well-respected member of the local law enforcement community found himself engulfed in controversy. Leadington Police Chief Cledith Wakefield was charged with felony forgery and misdemeanor stealing. Wakefield has been steadfast in proclaiming his innocence since the charges were announced. City officials have also stood behind their chief, stating when the facts come out, Wakefield will be cleared of all charges.

The charges allege Wakefield, who has been chief for about 25 years, cashed a former police officer’s last paycheck in September and didn’t give the money to the officer. The check was for $330.

The case is still pending. The story received the third most hits of the year on the Daily Journal’s Web site with 11,514.

Also in June, a Mineral Area College baseball player was suspended after he was accused of raping a teenager. Chad A. Moss, 19, Desloge, was charged with sexual assault and deviate sexual assault. The case has not yet been scheduled for trial.

According to the probable cause statement, a teenager told police she became intoxicated at a party she attended in Desloge on April 12 with a bunch of friends. She fell asleep or passed out in a bedroom. When she woke up, she was naked and her whole body ached. She told police that she believed she was raped and she never consented to any sexual acts.

Moss told police in his statement he and the teenager had been kissing and flirting with each other and they both got pretty drunk. He later went into the bedroom where he found her asleep or passed out. Police say Moss admitted during the police interview that he had sex with the teenager and asked the officer if he could go to prison for having sex with her while she was passed out.

The story received the fourth most hits of the year on the Daily Journal’s Web site with 10,612. The case has not yet been set for trial.

The old saying in news is that nobody wants to read good news. Well that may be true in a lot of cases, but after a year of feeling pinched at the pumps, residents were eager to read about gas prices going down. In August, gas prices finally started to fall and the story about the decreasecaught the sixth most hits of the year with 9,420.

In July, the Park Hills Police Department had a tragic accident to investigate. A 12-year-old boy died after he was shot with a firearm. The boy was shot below the right hip and was airlifted to Children’s Hospital. Even though the death was under investigation, police said in a press release that the evidence indicated no criminal wrongdoing and no charges were filed in the case. The story received the seventh most hits on the Web site of the year with 7,963.

On Oct. 15, an elderly veteran was murdered at his rural Ste. Genevieve home. Prosecutors have charged Ronald D. Wright, 44, Farmington, with the murder of John E. Shaw.

The attack happened at the Shaw home on Collin Court off of Route D in southern Ste. Genevieve County near St. Francois County at about 2 p.m. An autopsy showed Shaw died of blunt force trauma, reportedly as the result of Wright repeatedly hitting him with a hammer.

According to the probable cause statement, a man backed his pickup truck in the Shaws’ driveway, got out and came to the front door that afternoon. The man asked for someone by name and the Shaws told him they did not know that person. The man went back to his vehicle and sat there several minutes before coming back and entering the house without warning. He began assaulting Shaw.

Shaw’s wife, Jean, called 911 on a cordless phone and escaped through the back door. She hid in a patch of tall grass several yards away until police arrived. Wright later reportedly told investigators that he allowed Shaw to smoke a cigarette before killing him, and also tried to find Jean Shaw before leaving the area.

The story about the murder received the eighth most hits of the year with 7,481.

A story about a bar brawl is number nine on the list with 7,387 hits. The incident occurred in September at the Outlaws Bar and Grill. Authorities said there were approximately 40 people involved in the brawl.

“Evidently, it started inside the building, but ended up in the parking lot all around the bar,” Sheriff Dan Bullock said in the story. “There were several different fights going on all around the building.”

Rounding off the top 10 most viewed for the year was the story about the abduction of Leadington teen Kory Wakefield. The story received 7,303 hits on the Web  site.

According to police, the 17-year-old was abducted at gunpoint in September from his home and was then forced to drive to Macon County. Wakefield was getting ready to drive to school when a man walked into the driveway from the direction of the Mineral Area College dorms. The man pulled a gun and ordered Wakefield to drive him to Columbia. Later, he changed the destination to Kirksville.

While he was driving, Wakefield reached into his pocket and secretly sent a text message to his girlfriend, Katelyn Neff, to let her know he needed help. That kicked off a search in the Parkland that included Wakefield’s family and the Central High School football player’s team members.

In Macon County, the man ordered Wakefield to drive into a logging road in the Atlanta conservation area. The teenager assumed the man planned to kill him and decided it was his last chance to get away. He saw a large pile of logs and rammed his truck into it.

As Wakefield came to, he realized that at least one person was outside the truck, prying the passenger door open to rescue the abductor. He pretended to remain unconscious until the men drove off in a red vehicle. They did not check the teen before leaving.

After the men were gone, Wakefield talked with Katelyn, then called his father, who told him to call 911. The teen had hunted in the area about three years earlier, and was able to provide directions for police who went and picked him up.

No arrests have been made in connection with the abduction.

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