Ozark County man arrested for stalking, harassment, warrants issued for same crimes along with robbery

An Ozark County man has been arrested stalking, harassment and other crimes involving his step-father and warrants have been issued for the same crimes involving the same victim along with burglary and stealing. Robert Reese Richie of Gainesville was arrested in January, but was released Jan. 21 on his own recognizance. The new warrants for his arrest were issued Feb. 5.According to the probable cause affidavits from the Ozark County Sheriff’s Office, Richie was arrested Jan. 8 after the victim called to say Richie was violating a restraining order at his home in the Wasola area.

Deputies found Richie hiding in an outbuilding adjacent to the house. They ordered him to come out, but he refused. At one point, he grabbed a bottle of vodka and started drinking from it.

Deputies eventually grabbed Richie by an arm and tried to get him out of the building, but he resisted. He was escorted to the ground and taken into custody.

The victim told deputies Richie had threatened to kill him. He said Richie had been there the night before, yelling at him and threatening him.

For that incident, Richie was charged with felony counts of first degree stalking and first degree harassment along with misdemeanor counts of violation of a protection order and first degree trespassing.

SECOND ARREST

Richie was found at the victim’s residence a second time, leading to the warrants being issued.

A search warrant was being executed at the victim’s residence in reference to a burglary that happened Jan. 6. Deputies were searching the property the same day Richie was released from the Ozark County Jail and found him hiding again in a makeshift shelter on the property.

Richie was arrested and then released the next day from the Ozark County Jail.

While serving the search warrant, deputies learned the step-father had been gone for about one and half weeks. Upon returning, he determined locks had been cut and numerous items had been stolen from the residence.

The protection order was filed the next day. That evening, a deputy received texts and videos from Richie asking if he was being sought. The deputy showed a picture of Richie to two witnesses to the crime who said that was the person who was carrying items from the house.

Richie had built a shack in the woods near the house. His mother gave investigators permission to check it and they found some of the stolen items.

The warrants issued for Richie’s arrest charge him with felony counts of second degree burglary, stealing $750 or more and first degree stalking, along with misdemeanor charges of violation of a protection order and first degree trespass.

PREVIOUS ARRESTS

Richie has two previous felony arrests in Ozark County.

In March of 2011 he was arrested on a charge of possession of a controlled substance, marijuana. In December of 2011, he was arrested on a charge of second degree arson.

Richie was given a suspended imposition of sentence in May of 2012, but he violated his probation in December of 2013 and was sentenced to five years in the Missouri Department of Corrections.

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