Another defendant in the Carl DeBrodie case has pleaded guilty to federal charges.
Anthony R.K. Flores, 33, of Fulton, pleaded guilty Wednesday to falsification of records in federal investigations in the Western District of Missouri.
Background
DeBrodie was 31 years old when his remains were found in a Fulton storage unit April 24, 2017, about a week after he was reported missing. He was a developmentally disabled resident of Second Chance Homes of Fulton, a care facility at 298 Claymine Drive, tasked with and paid to give him care.
According to the plea agreement, Flores worked for SCH's two Fulton facilities from 2009 through April 2017 as a direct-care staff member and assistant director. Flores was familiar with DeBrodie's medical and mental health condition.
Flores' parents, Sherry Paulo and Anthony Flores, pleaded guilty to federal charges related to the case in November. Both also worked as caregivers at SCH.
Paulo and Anthony Flores admitted in their pleas they observed DeBrodie's health decline beginning in 2014. DeBrodie became underweight and pale, and he grew more ill over a period of several months. During this time, Paulo occasionally took DeBrodie out of his designated residence and put him in the basement of the personal home she shared with the senior Flores.
DeBrodie suffered an acute medical emergency while in the basement of Anthony Flores' and Paulo's personal home. Despite observing DeBrodie's physical distress and obvious medical need at that time, the couple admitted they did not seek medical care for DeBrodie, and he died while in their home.
In the plea agreements, Paulo admitted she subsequently placed DeBrodie's body in a trash can and transported the body to DeBrodie's assigned residence, where she and Anthony Flores put it in a wooden crate, which they filled with cement.
Flores' plea
According to Anthony R.K. Flores' plea agreement, his mother asked him to come to the Claymine facility and requested his help moving a "heavy wooden crate" onto a trailer and into her storage unit. Along with a father and another individual, unnamed in the court filing, Flores helped his parents transport the crate.
The plea agreement does not state whether Flores was aware of the crate's contents.
On April 16, 2017, the younger Flores hosted a barbecue at his home. During the barbecue, Paulo told him if anyone asked about DeBrodie, "Flores should tell them that (DeBrodie) was present at the barbecue with her." But Flores did not see DeBrodie at the party.
The next day, Paulo reported DeBrodie as missing to the Fulton Police Department.
On April 19, two days later, Anthony R.K. Flores authored and signed a written statement for the FPD, claiming he saw DeBrodie during his barbecue, according to the plea agreement.
In fact, he hadn't seen DeBrodie in at least six months.
"The defendant authored, signed and provided the false written statement to the Fulton Police Department with the intention to impede, obstruct or influence an investigation regarding (DeBrodie)," the plea agreement states.
"Falsification of records in federal investigations" is a Class C felony with a maximum penalty of 20 years imprisonment. However, in accepting the plea agreement, the court will agree to impose a sentence of up to 24 months imprisonment with no chance of parole, and three years of supervised release.
Previously, in February 2019, Flores and another defendant pleaded guilty in the Callaway County Courthouse to making a false report or false statement of a missing person, a misdemeanor. He was sentenced to eight months in the county jail, minus time served (bit.ly/2wdWNGX).