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A High Ridge resident has been arrested and arraigned on charges of evading paying sales taxes, fraudulently posing as a Missouri auto dealer, and defrauding the Missouri Department of Conservation by stopping payment on a check he used to purchase vehicles from the department. Robert B. Hector, 46-years of age, surrendered to Dent County court authorities Thursday, January 7^th in Salem. He was arraigned on the same day, and a preliminary hearing is scheduled for February 4^th. He is free on bond of $45,000. Hector is charged with fraudulently obtaining five vehicles and their titles at a Department of Conservation surplus property auction on October 17^th in Salem. He bought three pickup trucks and two Dodge Caravans at the auction and is charged with stopping payment on the check used to pay for the vehicles. Hector is also charged with representing himself as a Missouri motor vehicle dealer to avoid paying sales tax when purchasing the vehicles. The purported business he was representing, Worldwide Capital A/S, is not a licensed Missouri dealership. Normally, a person purchasing a vehicle must pay sales tax on the purchase. However, licensed dealers do not have to pay sales tax for such a transaction. Hector is also accused of selling the vehicles to a legitimate motor vehicle dealership using the fraudulent titles. A special agent of the Missouri Department of Revenue’s Criminal Investigation Bureau investigated the case and provided details to the Dent County Prosecutor’s Office so that the charges against Hector could be levied. Nick Humphrey, director of the Criminal Investigation Bureau refers to this as a brazen case of fraud and tax evasion and believes Mr. Hector deprived the Department of Conservation of the proper payments for its vehicles, he evaded paying the sales taxes he owed, and he misrepresented himself on the titles and to other people as a legitimate dealer when he bought and sold the vehicles.  Blatant fraud such as this against Missouri citizens and the state government needs to be rectified to discourage others from doing the same thing in the future.

The Ozark Natural and Cultural Resource Center have changed their hours for January. The hours are Monday through Saturday from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm.

An accident happened at 8:03 Tuesday morning in Texas County on Highway 17 about five miles south of Success. According to the highway patrol report, a 1997 International Bluebird School Bus driven by 47-year old Mickey Wilson of Licking was traveling northbound on highway 17. The bus ran off the road and struck a utility pole. Wilson suffered moderate injury and was taken to the Texas County Memorial Hospital in Houston by Ground ambulance. He was wearing a seat restraint at the time of the accident. The school bus sustained moderate damage and was removed from the scene by A1 Towing of Houston.

The Salem Police Department released their reports involving shoplifting, theft, a mental commitment order and a traffic violation. On Saturday, January 9^th at 2:50 pm, an officer was detailed to Wal-Mart in reference to a shoplifting incident that led to the arrest of a 28-year old Salem woman for stealing $25.58 worth of merchandise. She was issued a summons to appear in court and was released. At 8:25 that evening, an officer was dispatched back to Wal-Mart in reference to another shoplifting incident that led to the arrest of a 33-year old Salem man for stealing $17.47 worth of merchandise. He was issued a summons to appear in court and was released. On Sunday morning, January 10^th at 7:30, an officer was sent to 1000 Highway 19 south to the Walnut Bowl Motel in reference to a theft. The investigation revealed the victim placed several CD’s, WII game and prescription medications, in an unsecured vehicle. Upon returning to the vehicle about 30 minutes later, they discovered all the items were missing. At 7:00 that evening, officers were detailed to the Salem Memorial Hospital in reference to a mental commitment order. A 45-year-old Sparta woman was taken into custody and transported to the Ozark Medical Center in West Plains, and released to their custody. On Monday, January 11^th at 8:00 pm a vehicle was stopped for a traffic violation that led to the arrest of a 47-year old Salem man for the traffic violation and possession of marijuana. He was issued summons to appear in court and released. Anyone with information on the theft, which is still under investigation, is ask to call Salem Police Department at 729-4242.

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