Attorney general probes threatened-judge case

By MICHELLE FRIEDRICH ~ Daily American Republic

GREENVILLE, Mo. -- The Missouri Attorney General's Office has been appointed to investigate and prosecute a Piedmont, Mo., woman who recently was charged with threatening to kill a Wayne County judge.

Vickie L. Lawson, 44, was charged in mid-August with tampering with a judicial official and tampering with a judicial proceeding by Wayne County Prosecuting Attorney Robert Ramshur.

Lawson, who is being held in the Wayne County Jail on $50,000 cash bond, is accused of threatening to kill Associate Circuit Judge Randy Schuller, who presided over her boyfriend's case.

The complaint alleges that on Aug. 12 Lawson "tampered with [Schuller]by threatening" him.

Also, Lawson allegedly threatened Schuller's life during a judicial hearing.

After filing the charges against Lawson on Aug. 14, Ramshur filed a motion seeking the appointment of a special prosecutor.

Having been assigned to Lawson's case, Associate Circuit Judge Randall Head of Iron County signed an order appointing the attorney general to investigate the alleged threats. Ramshur's office, Head said, is granted authority to "prosecute the pending cases and to investigate and prosecute" any other related matters.

The charges stem from a phone conversation Lawson allegedly had with Ray Charles Hicks, 50, a Missouri Department of Corrections inmate, on Aug. 12, according to Wayne County Deputy Shane Babb's probable-cause affidavit. The department reportedly records inmate phone calls.

From these recordings, it was learned "Lawson made statements conspiring to murder" Ramshur and Schuller, Babb said.

"Lawson made the statement that she wanted to kill Judge Schuller and do bad things to Ramshur and Schuller," Babb said.

Lawson, he said, further said her ex-husband had thousands of dollars coming in from a settlement, and "if she had to pay someone to kill Schuller, she would."

The alleged phone conversation took place three days after Schuller took no action in Hicks' case, according to entries in Casenet, Missouri's online court reporting system.

Hicks reportedly pleaded guilty in May 2009 to five counts of felony forgery. At the time, Schuller sentenced him to five years in prison on one of the forgery counts, with suspended execution of the sentence, and suspended the imposition of his sentence on the other four counts. Hicks was placed on five years of supervised probation.

Hicks subsequently was found in violation of his probation, and Schuller sentenced him to seven years in prison on each of the four counts and a 120-day shock incarceration program.

At the end of the 120 days, Hicks was released on a five-year term of supervised probation in May 2012.

Another probation revocation hearing was held April 18, at which time Schuller ordered two of Hicks' seven-year sentences to run concurrently and consecutive to the other two concurrent seven-year sentences.

At that time, Schuller placed Hicks in the 120-day shock incarceration program.

A report from prison officials in regards to Hicks was filed with the court July 8. He remains housed at the Boone Terre, Mo., prison.

Lawson is to appear at 1 p.m. Sept. 11 before Head for a review of her cases.