Charges of defrauding secured creditors against a man who operated an antique car business in Rolla were dismissed during a preliminary hearing Friday in 25th Judicial Circuit Court proceedings at Phelps County Courthouse.
Class-D felony charges against Tommy F. Ray, 57, of Rogersville, Mo., who operated the Memoryville USA in Rolla were dismissed by Circuit Judge John A. Clayton.
Clayton ruled while the December, 2006, loan was secured at Citizens Bank of Newburg in Phelps County, the six autos used as collateral to procure the loans were stored in Greene County near Springfield, and for that matter, charges should have been filed in Greene County.
Defense Attorney Wayne Gifford questioned the originality of the loan documents during testimonies of two bank employees at the time, which Clayton overruled, but it was the known location of the stored vehicles by bank officials that allowed for the dismissal.
Phelps County Assistant Prosecutor Nick Chlysta valiantly defended the probable cause statement and his course of prosecution, but Clayton was having none of it.
“I have no doubt that Mr. Ray tried to commit fraud, and at the time the vehicles were stored in Greene County. He told people they were in Greene County,” Clayton told the court. “This case should’ve been filed in Greene County. Therefore, I cannot find reason to support these charges in Phelps County. These charges are dismissed,” Clayton said.
Ray was accused of allegedly defrauding Citizens Bank of Newburg of $72,058 on a loan he secured in December, 2006, which came due June 5, 2007.
Former Citizens Bank of Newburg Vice President Ernest F. Kost and current Loan Officer Aaron Espinoza both testified for the prosecution that Ray is the person who secured the loan, and Espinoza testified he spent time looking for the cars used as collateral when the loan defaulted.
“I’ve spent lots of days and nights looking for his property,” Espinoza told the court. “No. There were never any payments made.”
Both Chlysta and bank officials who attended the hearing urged that charges would be pursued in Greene County.
“Sometimes you do everything right and things just don’t work out,” said Citizens Bank of Newburg official Sandy Hutchison. “We’re not done yet.”