Campbell man back behind bars after 'no showing' court appearance

A 38-year-old Campbell, Mo., man recently incarcerated in connection with the home invasion and kidnapping of a Malden resident posted bond and was released from custody, but only managed to stay out of jail for a short period before being placed back behind bars.

Richard O. Jenkins, 38, of Campbell, Mo., was arrested just before the Christmas holiday following a series of crimes in which he is accused of carrying out on Monday, December 19 at the home of a 70-year-old Malden man, Terry Kitrel.

Jenkins allegedly invaded the home of Kitrel, demanding money and threatening the senior citizen. When Kitrel explained that he had no money in his possession, Jenkins demanded that he go with him in Kitrel's vehicle to a banking center, where Jenkins instructed Kitrel to take out an undisclosed amount of money from his account. Kitrel complied with the requests of Jenkins, according to Police, for fear of being hurt based on Jenkins' threats. After Jenkins received his payout, he had Kitrel drive back to his residence where the suspect got into a white extended cab GMC truck and fled the scene. Kitrel immediately contacted police to report the incident.

Following this event, police launched an investigation. Several leads were received over a two-day period and a tip from a local source led to police locating Jenkins, who was ironically parked behind the residence of Kitrel again, seemingly coming back to potentially threaten the victim again. However, this time, Jenkins was spotted by police and when he noticed them in his perimeter, he quickly turned and ran toward the home of Kitrel and made entry inside the residence. Kitrel, who was unaware of any of this, was also inside the home, but was able to get out safely, as area police surrounded the residence and explained to him through a window that the suspect was inside and he needed to exit the house. Once Kitrel was outside and safe from potential harm, police raided the home and found Jenkins hiding inside a hot tub. He was subsequently placed under arrest and later issued a $250,000 bond in connection to a number of felony charges associated with the crimes he is accused of. Those charges include Robbery in the first degree, a class A felony; 3 counts of Armed Criminal Action, an unclassified felony; 2 counts of Burglary in the first degree, a class B felony; and Kidnapping, and class B felony.

This wasn't the first of this kind of incident for Jenkins. Two months prior to this event, Jenkins was arrested for theft. According to court records, in late October, he was charged with attempted theft for trying to steal a construction trailer located in his hometown of Campbell. At that time, he was issued a $15,000 bond amount, which he posted on October 31, 2011, prior to his initial arraignment and counsel status hearing on November 1, 2011. A preliminary court appearance was set for December 20, 2011, and court records indicate that Jenkins, represented by attorney Daren K. Todd appeared before Judge John C. Spielman, requesting the appearance be rescheduled for January 31, 2012.

In relation to the Kitrel home invasion, Jenkins was back in jail, but was able to be released by posting the required bond through Clark Bail Bonds in the amount of $250,000. However, after he was reported as a "no show" for his first scheduled court appearance on Tuesday, December 27, 2011, in connection to the Kitrel home invasion and kidnapping, the courts revoked his previous bond of $15,000 on the separate case, changing it to $100,000 cash-only, and revoked his most recent bond of $250,000, changing it to a cash-only status. Jenkins was once again picked up by police and placed into custody at the Dunklin County Justice Center as a result of these actions.

Prosecutors say that as of Wednesday morning, Jenkins was behind bars and they expect to see him in court regarding the first case of theft on January 31, as previously planned. Regarding the Kitrel incident, Jenkins will likely appear in court this Friday. Court records have not indicated whether or not Jenkins will be represented in both cases by Daren K. Todd, although the attorney is presently listed as his legal representation in regard to the October theft case.