JEFFERSON CITY (AP) - A Missouri prosecutor is seeking to revoke the probation of a man who led an effort to get $2 million in state economic development incentives despite pleading guilty to felony charges of passing more than $90,000 of bad checks.
The Stoddard County prosecutor has asked a judge to send Weaver Dickerson to prison on grounds that he violated his probation by submitting false information to the state Department of Economic Development in an aid application for a proposed development in downtown Cape Girardeau.
The state withdrew its incentive package for the development last week after Dickerson's probation first was reported by The Associated Press. Weaver was placed on five years of probation following a pair of 2007 guilty pleas to bad check charges.
In court documents dated last Thursday, Stoddard County Prosecutor Briney Welborn said Dickerson's probation should be revoked because he allegedly committed the additional crimes of making a false affidavit and a false declaration when submitting an Action Fund Loan Application for state development incentives.
"He signed a document saying that nobody in their group had committed a felony or was on probation, and he had committed a felony and was on probation," Welborn said.
Dickerson did not answer repeated phone calls Monday. The attorney from Dickerson's previous cases no longer represents him and no new attorney was listed with the court.
The state form at issue asks applicants for economic development incentives to verify that no one with an ownership interest in the company has committed a felony, is under indictment for a felony or is on probation or parole. The document was signed by Dickerson and dated July 21.
Dickerson previously told the AP that he was not an owner of the development group.
But other records submitted to the state Economic Development Department show Dickerson had a 10 percent membership interest in Hometown Holding Group LLC, which was listed as the company participating in the project with city of Cape Girardeau and the Southeast Missouri Regional Planning Commission.
Under the terms of his probation for the bad check cases, Dickerson is to pay $1,677 of restitution per month. A couple of weeks ago, Welborn filed a motion to revoke Dickerson's probation on grounds that he was thousands of dollars behind on his restitution payments.
Welborn said Monday that Dickerson may have since made those payments. But the tardy restitution claim remains in the updated motion to revoke Dickerson's probation. A court hearing is scheduled for Jan. 19.