Rejection decision ‘taken upon recommendation’ in murder case

Written by: KYLE TROUTMAN [email protected]

Polk County Associate Judge Jill Porter “granted recommendation” a motion to dismiss charges against Richard Randolph, who is accused of stabbing Andey Hunter to death in June 2023.

Eight days before a scheduled case review, Randolph’s attorney, Brian Smith, filed a motion to dismiss the case with prejudice, claiming Randolph’s due process rights were violated.

The motion alleges law enforcement destroyed evidence denying Randolph, 31, of Cassville, his right to a fair trial.

During an investigation at the alleged crime scene on June 3, 2023, police officers allowed a former detective to arrive at the scene with the victim’s family, allowing them to enter the scene.

Police claim Hunter gave two of his vehicles to his family; these tools allegedly contained evidence of earlier attacks against Randolph that day. The motion alleges the vehicles contained weapons used against Randolph, a chainsaw and gasoline used to threaten Randolph, containers of alcohol Hunter consumed that day, as well as Randolph’s blood and clothing.

The motion stated that no photography or inventory was conducted and no attempt was made to obtain any evidence after interviewing witnesses.

“This evidence was important to the present case and was exculpatory in that it gave credence to the defendant’s claim of self-defense after spending the day being attacked by Mr. Hunter,” the motion said. “At this point, the defendant is deprived of evidence other than the weapon that threatened him, evidence of assault and life threats, and the toxicology report regarding the amount of alcohol consumed by the victim.”

The motion alleges that the second vehicle was in a storage unit across the street from Randolph’s home (at the Miller Warehouse located at 1200 Old Highway 37 in Cassville) and that the vehicle was the cause of the dispute, assault and death threats made against him. Randolph.

Randolph’s storage unit was turned over to the property owner, and no inventory of the unit’s contents was taken other than a photo of Hunter lying on the floor inside the unit, the motion said.

“The rental unit contained a number of items that would certainly be easier to access and use if it could show that the defendant had previously acted in bad faith or acted cold-bloodedly and was planning to end Mr. Hunter’s life,” the motion alleged. “The contents of the rental unit are now gone and no inventory has been conducted.”

The motion also alleges that Cassville Police Department officers violated their own department policies, specifically Sections 402 and 801 regarding the protection of crime scenes and the management of property.

“These policies only allow the return of property when it has no probative value,” the motion said. “These policies require officers to record every piece of property returned to ‘rightful owners’, even when they decide it has no probative value. The ‘beneficiary’ must then sign for each property given to them. “In this case, that was not done.”

The motion alleges that the fact that Hunter’s family arrived at the scene while he was there indicates, at the very least, a close relationship between law enforcement and the Hunter family.

“Mr. Hunter and his family acted as a binder and bounty hunter for the Barry County court system and also maintained close relationships with authorities to facilitate these business dealings.

On October 30, Judge Porter took the motion on recommendation, and the next hearing in the case will be a preliminary hearing in Polk County on December 4.

The jury trial was planned to be held in July of this year, but due to the defense attorney’s family emergency at that time, the trial was continued and the new trial date was set as January 21-24, 2025.

According to the original probable cause affidavit, a teenage male reported that there had been a stabbing at the Miller Warehouse and that the suspect was chasing him with a knife.

Upon arrival, officers located the body of a deceased adult male, later identified as Hunter, with apparent injuries to his upper torso.

Arriving police officers were able to identify Randolph as a suspect and arrested him near the scene.

Detectives were notified and responded to the scene.

According to a probable cause affidavit filed by Det. During a post-Miranda interview, Stu Lombard allegedly admitted that Randolph intentionally caused the victim’s death. Additionally, three witnesses were identified.

The incident marks the first alleged murder within Cassville city limits since the stabbing death of Vicki Clark in 2011.