Cole County Grand Jury indicts several area residents

The Cole County grand jury handed down several indictments this week, finding there was enough evidence to send the cases onto the circuit courts for possible trial.

Among those indicted were:

• A Jefferson City man charged in November 2013 after being involved in a pursuit with local law enforcement.

Police reports show Clarence L. Johnson, 37, was arrested on charges of driving while revoked, resisting arrest and first-degree tampering with a motor vehicle.

The chase began when a police officer attempted to stop a vehicle for suspicious activity in the 1200 block of East Capitol Ave.

After running a license plate check on the vehicle, the officer found a warrant had been issued. The officer approached the vehicle, and Johnson sped off as the officer reached the driver's side.

The pursuit went through various parts of the east side of town near Riverside Park and then eventually on Route C when Johnson's vehicle malfunctioned and stopped.

Johnson was taken into custody just outside the city limits without incident, and no one was injured during the pursuit.

• A Holts Summit woman who is facing eight counts of forgery in connection with stealing at least $25,000 from her former employer.

Latishia Marcum, 48, is also charged with one count of felony stealing. Court documents show the incidents occurred from February 2011 to August 2013.

However, the Jefferson City Police Department said Marcum, since 2008, has been forging and cashing employment checks of a woman who had worked with her. The victim said she had not given Marcum permission to sign her name or cash any checks bearing her name. The victim has also not worked for Missouri Home Care Associates LLC, which provided the checks.

The victim worked for the company for a short time in 2008 and resigned by informing Marcum, who was her supervisor at the time. A representative of the company, which is based in St. Peters, said he had been led to believe by Marcum that the victim was a current employee and that Marcum provided a time sheet for the victim saying she had worked.

According to banking information, the victim's employment checks have been deposited in Marcum's bank account.

• A Meta woman who was charged with escaping from custody in October 2013 after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor charge in connection with a fatal car crash from February 2012 in Jefferson City.

Stephanie Wiebold, 31, was charged with not returning to the Cole County Jail after a medical furlough she received from the courts.

A sheriff's department probable cause statement shows Wiebold was released from jail on the morning of Oct. 18 and was supposed to return later that same day, but didn't. She was eventually brought back into custody.

Wiebold was charged with careless and imprudent driving, and was ordered to serve one year in jail.

Wiebold was westbound in the 1800 block of U.S. 50 West, about two blocks east of Dix Road, when she "failed to maintain her lane of travel" because she was on her cellphone, "and, therefore, drove off the road, striking a rock embankment."

Jefferson City police said the accident caused Wiebold's 2-year-old son, Dallen Rackers, "to travel forward in the car and impact the interior of the vehicle" because he was riding in the rear seat unrestrained.

Wiebold also wasn't using a seat belt, the police said. Dallen died a few weeks later as a result of the injuries he suffered.