Date set for Clay Waller's federal trial

Clay Waller will go to trial on federal charges of making an Internet threat next month after waiving his right to a pretrial motions hearing.

Waller's Sept. 29 hearing was canceled Thursday when he submitted a motion to waive his right to the hearing. The hearing was Waller's opportunity to raise any issues with evidence from the prosecution, federal prosecutor Larry Ferrell said.

Magistrate Judge Lewis Blanton set Waller's jury trial date for Oct. 3, according to court documents. A jury would be drawn from the southeastern division of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri. The division runs from St. Genevieve, Mo., to the Arkansas border and as far west as Stoddard County.

Waller faces up to five years in prison and up to a $250,000 fine for a charge of transmitting through interstate commerce a threat to injure. Federal prosecutors say that Waller threatened to kill his wife Jacque Waller's sister, Cheryl Brenneke, if she hurt his three children. Brenneke has custody of the children. The threat is said to have taken place on an online discussion board.

Jacque Waller has been missing since June 1, and prosecutors say Clay Waller is a suspect in her disappearance.

An affidavit from an FBI agent says Clay Waller spoke to his father, James Clay Waller Sr., just a few days after Jacque Waller disappeared. According to the affidavit, Clay Waller confessed to his father that the hole had already been dug and that he buried Jacque with a shovel.

Last week, Blanton ruled Waller should be kept in custody until he goes to trial for the federal charges. Clay Waller's federal public defender, Scott Tilsen, appealed the order, saying in a motion that Clay Waller does not pose a threat to the community and he is not at risk of fleeing.

Tilsen declined to comment on the case.

In addition to his federal case, Clay Waller had a preliminary hearing for harassment and theft charges in Cape Girardeau County Circuit Court set for Tuesday.

However, due to the U.S. Marshals Service rejecting Cape Girardeau County assistant prosecutor Angel Woodruff's request to let Waller attend the state's hearing, that court date was canceled.

Woodruff is the prosecutor for Clay Waller's state charges and was the first person to publicly call him a suspect in Jacque's disappearance.

Woodruff said she contacted the marshals Thursday morning to see if Clay Waller would be allowed to attend the Tuesday hearing, but the marshals rejected the request. When a defendant is taken into federal custody, state charges are normally put on hold for security purposes, Woodruff said.

"This was standard procedure," Woodruff said. "When his next court date is scheduled, we'll contact the marshals again to see if he can attend."

The next state court date for Clay Waller will be a case review, Woodruff said. The date for the review has not been set, and Woodruff said she is unsure whether Clay Waller will be allowed to attend.

Probable-cause statements say Waller accepted a check for $55,000 from the Delta Cos. in April 2010 for construction work he never did. The harassment charge stems from a complaint made the week before his arrest by a former friend, Gary Hill, who told police that Waller threatened to kill him. Prosecutors also allege Waller threatened potential witnesses in the Jacque Waller case.

psullivan@semissourian.com

388-3635

Pertinent address:

599 Independence St., Cape Girardeau, MO