Coroner in court to answer charges

Cape Girardeau County Coroner Wavis Jordan waived his initial appearance and formal reading of charges scheduled Friday morning for the alleged crimes he committed in the capacity of coroner.

Jordan faces three Class E felonies of falsifying death records and a misdemeanor crime of stealing less than $20 from the wallet of a deceased person.

The motions to waive the hearing and to request a continuance for the preliminary hearing were significant in that they demonstrated Jordan now officially has an attorney representing him, at least on the criminal charges.

A conference call was held Thursday with Jordan's attorney Lynne M. Chambers, an Illinois lawyer with an office in Sikeston. During the conference call with the court and lawyers with the state attorney general, Jordan waived the reading of charges.

The judge granted a continuance, which was not opposed by the state. The preliminary hearing is set for May 14.

Jordan had filed a motion for continuance on his own on March 4, a request that was denied by Judge Brice Sechrest.

In addition to the criminal charges, Jordan also faces a Quo Warranto filing in civil court, which is considered an "extraordinary remedy" to remove an elected official from office. Online court records didn't show on Friday whether Chambers would represent Jordan in the civil case as well. That case is being heard by Judge Jerel Lee Poor, who granted a continuance on Feb. 28 for Jordan to respond to the AG's Quo Warranto filing.

The civil and criminal cases are moving through the courts while Missouri State Rep. John Voss is pushing a bill to strengthen the standards for Missouri coroners. A committee hearing on the bill was held earlier this week in which a few Cape Girardeau County residents shared their stories about Jordan's alleged mistakes in their loved ones' death investigations.

The courts suspended Jordan from his duties as coroner while the Quo Warranto matter plays out in the courts. Meanwhile, the county is in the middle of an election filing period for the office of coroner and a handful of other elected offices. Primaries for coroner will take place in August with the general election coming in November. The current term runs through the end of this year.

Thus far, five candidates have filed to run for Jordan's position. They are Chad Armstrong, Ted Ivie, John Macke, Mark Seesing, and Craig Williams.

The deadline for filing is 5 p.m. March 26.