Man setenced to nine years in jail a week after alleged escape attempt

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- A week after allegedly fleeing from a work detail at the Butler County jail, a Neelyville, Mo., man is headed to prison.

Richard Matthew Trice, 23, of Neelyville pleaded guilty Friday to second-degree robbery before Senior Judge James Hall, according to Butler County assistant prosecuting attorney Paul Oesterreicher.

Originally charged with first-degree robbery and armed criminal action, Trice entered his plea to the lesser robbery charge after Oesterreicher filed an amended information with the court.

The amended information alleges that on Jan. 12 Trice "forcibly stole cash money owned by Jackie L. Owens."

Trice was accused of following Owens to his home on County Road 523, approaching him and demanding money.

The victim, according to earlier reports, refused to give Trice money and attempted to retrieve from his vehicle a .38-caliber pistol he kept for protection.

A brief struggle allegedly ensued over the weapon, which officials said resulted in Trice taking it away from Owens.

"At that point, the suspect, who was then holding the gun, again demanded the victim give him money," Butler County Sheriff Mark Dobbs earlier said. "The victim surrendered his wallet, which contained approximately $1,200."

Owens provided a physical description of the suspect, as well as a description of his vehicle, which led deputies to Trice.

"He pled guilty to the Class B felony of robbery in the second degree for a nine-year prison sentence," Oesterreicher said.

The state and Trice's attorney already had negotiated the plea and sentence before he allegedly ran from a work detail at the jail June 12.

Trice was loading food carts on a truck from the back door on the southeast corner of the justice center when he "basically jumped over the rail and ran," Dobbs said earlier.

He was caught slightly more than 12 hours after his alleged escape. He was apprehended near one of his relative's residences in Neelyville.

Trice subsequently was charged with escape from custody, but that charge was dismissed at the time of his plea, Oesterreicher said.

"He didn't get the escape conviction, but he got an additional year from what we had originally offered him," Oesterreicher explained.

Trice's sentence is not an "85 percenter, but he does have a prior incarceration so he'll have to do at least 40 to 50 percent" before he is eligible for parole, Oesterreicher said.

At the time of his January arrest, Trice was a parolee, having been released on parole Oct. 20.

Trice was sentenced to seven years in the Missouri Department of Corrections in September 2005 after he pleaded guilty to second-degree assault in Butler County.