Trial date scheduled for former Dexter police chief, officer

KENNETT, Mo. -- Charged with hindering the prosecution of a former Dexter police officer, ex-police chief Ken Rinehart and Sgt. Sammy Stone will go to court in February.

In a Thursday appearance in Dunklin County, Associate Circuit Judge David Mann of Scott County set a Feb. 6 trial date in Rinehart and Stone's cases, according to a docket entry made on the Missouri State Courts Automated Case Management System.

Rinehart and Stone face felony charges of hindering prosecution.

The indictments stem from an incident involving former Dexter officer Robert Kennedy, who was arrested in July 2001 on charges of improper sexual activities. Kennedy later pleaded guilty and was placed on five years of probation.

Rinehart resigned as police chief on Nov. 12 to take a baggage screening position with the Transportation Security Administration. He planned to work at the Cape Girardeau Regional Airport.

When TSA officials learned Rinehart was under indictment, he was placed on administrative leave pending an investigation of whether he falsified a TSA form during the application process. Rinehart's attorney, Jim Spain of Poplar Bluff, Mo., has said his client was honest on the form.

A TSA spokeswoman in Washington, D.C., said Friday that Rinehart remains on administrative leave.

According to city administrator Mark Stidham, Stone is working for the street department.