Odd court hearing ends with judge declaring probable cause in abuse case

Lawyer Andrew Morris and his client, Leon Cortez Wilder Jr., were standing in front of Judge Gary Kamp, prepared to waive Wilder’s preliminary hearing, when Wilder made his thoughts known. He wanted to have his preliminary hearing, and he wanted it at 11 a.m. Tuesday.

Wilder, 33, of Cape Girardeau was facing charges of second-degree domestic assault and felonious restraint after he was arrested by Cape Girardeau County sheriff’s deputies May 3.

Wilder had been on probation less than a month when he began a six-day assault of the victim in the case, according to a probable-cause statement filed by Cape Girardeau County sheriff’s detective Joe Thomas.

“I told you to talk to the prosecutor,” Wilder told his bewildered lawyer. “You weren’t doing your job.”

Morris told Wilder he misunderstood what Wilder wanted — he believed the plan was to negotiate a plea deal from the state.

Wilder said his witness, Jeromiah Trankle, already was in the courtroom, albeit in the same inmate orange.

Unprepared, Morris had to go to his Jackson office to get a tape recorder.

“Jesus Christ,” Kamp said. “You’ve got to bring that to court.”

Going ahead with the hearing presented another challenge. Another bailiff was needed to watch Trankle in the lobby as the victim testified.

Trankle was arrested May 25 by the Cape Girardeau County sheriff’s deputies and charged with receiving stolen property, unlawful use of a weapon, tampering with a motor vehicle and misdemeanor theft.

The victim testified first, saying Wilder sent her a threatening Facebook message April 16 to come and pick him up at friend’s house or he was going to burn her children’s house down.

They ended up at a house in the 1700 block of New Madrid Street in Cape Girardeau, and that’s where Wilder began assaulting her by punching, kicking and backhanding her multiple times, the victim said.

She said he made her stay in the house for six days and monitored her use of the bathroom.

“He told me he wasn’t allowing me to leave because I had marks on my face,” she said.

To keep her at the house, Wilder made threats against the victim and her children, she said.

At one point, she said Wilder showed her a trash bag and told her that’s where her body parts would be placed.

“He told me the only reason he didn’t kill me was because it would be too messy,” the victim said.

The victim escaped when Wilder convinced her to steal items at Lowe’s so he could make money — to pay court fees, according to the probable-cause statement.

An employee spotted the victim putting an item in a purse, and she told him about the assault, according to the victim.

A Cape Girardeau police officer went to the store, and she told him what happened.

Assistant Cape Girardeau County prosecuting attorney Julie Hunter also submitted pictures of the victim’s injuries.

Trankle did not refute what the victim said, instead confirming particular details. He said the victim was at the house in the 1700 block of New Madrid for about a week.

He said he saw Wilder act violently with the victim. He said he heard a bunch of yelling, screaming and knocking around in the back room of one of the houses one day.

“He said something about cutting her up and putting her in a trash bag, her and her kids,” Trankle said of a separate incident.

Hunter did not ask Trankle any questions, and Kamp found there was sufficient probable cause in the case.

“We had a plan, and you didn’t go with it,” Morris said to Wilder after the hearing. “Now, here we are.”

bkleine@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3644

Pertinent address:

1700 block of New Madrid St., Cape Girardeau MO