Man fails to leave neighbors alone, makes threats again, police say

Editor's note: This story has been modified from its original version to add a clarification from Kristy Strop.

According to police, Larry Gene Hottel just can’t leave his neighbors alone, and he has found himself in jail once again for disturbing them.

The 45-year-old Whitewater man had served a six-month sentence and been released, but he was arrested again after another episode of harassment, this time convincing others to join him, according to a probable-cause statement by the Cape Girardeau County Sheriff’s Department.

Hottel, who claims he is the one being harassed, was arrested Wednesday and has been charged with misdemeanor violating an order of protection.

On Sunday, Kristy Strop said Hottel convinced fellow neighbors to yell obscenities at the Strop family, who live on Route U, and Hottel yelled a vague statement that could be construed as a threat, according to the probable-cause statement filed by deputy Aaron Harris.

Strop said she had recorded much of the yelling, and Harris requested those recordings, Harris wrote.

“Mr. Hottel was outside of his residence ... (and) yelled that he had a bigger gun than her husband,” Harris wrote.

Harris and a fellow deputy later talked to Hottel, who said he and his wife had not been home all day, according to the statement. Hottel added he had done nothing wrong and believes he was the one being harassed, Harris wrote.

Strop has had an order of protection against Hottel since Dec. 14, and it is effective until Dec. 9, 2017. The details of the order state the use of third parties to communicate is strictly prohibited.

The order of protection was requested because of Hottel’s actions on Thanksgiving evening.

About 7:30 p.m. that day, Hottel was driving his car and truck into the field near the Strop residence, revving his engine and firing several shots into the air.

The Strops said Hottel had been acting that way much of that afternoon and had made a threat to kill their family.

Hottel pleaded guilty to unlawful use of a weapon and resisting arrest May 20 and was sentenced to six months in jail on each count, with the sentences to run concurrently.

Having been incarcerated since Nov. 26, Hottel had served a six-month sentence by June 2.

There was a six-day stretch starting March 28, however, during which Hottel was on a personal-recognizance bond.

In two previous hearings in the case dating back to Nov. 26, Hottel disputed he used a real gun in the incident, saying he had used a BB gun instead, and the Strops had mistaken his backfiring vehicles or exploding spray paint cans he was tossing in a fire as gunshots.

Cape Girardeau prosecuting attorneys could not produce evidence quickly Hottel had used a real gun in the incident.

On April 2, the Strops called Cape Girardeau County sheriff’s deputies, saying Hottel and his friends were shooting guns around their home, and Hottel had yelled obscenities in the direction of the family.

“I’m betting we heard more rounds shot than some vets,” Kristy Strop said in an interview with the Southeast Missourian about the incident.

In an email to the Southeast Missourian, Strop later clarified: "The police never searched Forrest Kidd's

property for casings or bullets. They never stepped on that property — which is where they were shooting from."

Hottel was arrested April 2, although sheriff’s deputies did not find any evidence shots were fired around the Strops’ residence.

Hottel served 45 days in jail for violating an order of protection in that case, which ran concurrent to the time he already was serving.

bkleine@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3644

Pertinent address:

Route U, Whitewater, Mo.