BY KYLE TROUTMAN ktroutman@cassville-democrat.com

Polk County Associate Judge Jill Porter has “taken under advisement” a motion to dismiss charges against Richard Randolph, accused of stabbing Andey Hunter to death in June 2023.

Eight days prior to a scheduled case review, Randolph’s attorney, Brian Smith, submitted the motion to dismiss the case with prejudice, claiming violation’s to Randolph’s right to due process.

The motion claims law enforcement officers destroyed evidence, which has denied Randolph, 31, of Cassville, the right to a fair trial.

The motion claims on June 3, 2023, during the investigation at the scene, officers allegedly permitted a former detective to arrive on the scene with the victim’s family and allowed them access to the scene.

It claims law enforcement gave possession of two of Hunter’s vehicles to his family, vehicles which allegedly contained evidence of prior assaults against Randolph that day. The motion claims the vehicles contained weapons used against Randolph, a chainsaw and gasoline used to threaten Randolph, containers of alcohol Hunter had consumed that day, as well as Randolph’s blood and clothing.

The motion said n photographs or inventory was conducted, and no attempts to recover any evidence was made after interviewing witnesses.

“This evidence was material to the case at hand and was exculpatory in that it gave credence to the defendant’s claim of self-defense after spending the day being assaulted by Mr. Hunter,” the motion said. “At this point, the defendant is left without the weapon used to threaten his life, proof of the assaults and threats to his life and the evidence of the amount of alcohol the victim had consumed save for toxicology report.”

The motion claims the second vehicle was in a storage unit [at Miller Storage, located at 1200 Old Highway 37 in Cassville], across the street from Randolph’s home, and the vehicle was the cause of the dispute, assault and threats of death levied against Randolph.

The motion said Randolph’s storage unit was turned over to the owner of the property, and no inventory of the contents of the unit were taken, except for a photograph of Hunter on the ground inside the unit.

“The rental unit contained a number of items that certainly would have been easier to access and use if the defendant had manifested malice aforethought or cool reflection and planning to end the life of Mr. Hunter,” the motion claimed. “Now the contents of the rental unit are gone, and no inventory was conducted.”

The motion also claims Cassville Police Department officers violated their own department policies, specifically sections 402 and 801 regarding preservation of crime scenes and handling property.

“Those policies permit the return of property only when it has no evidentiary value,” the motion said. “Those policies require the officers to log every piece of property turned over to the ‘rightful owners’ even when they determine that it has no evidentiary value. The ‘rightful owner’ must then sign for each piece of property released to them. That was not done in this case.”

The motion claims the arrival of Hunter’s family on the scene while he was still present shows, at minimum, a close relationship between law enforcement and the Hunter family.

“Mr. Hunter and his family acted as a bonding agency and bounty hunters for the Barry County court system and had a close relationship with officials in order to facilitate that business relationships as well.”

On Oct. 30, Judge Porter took the motion under advisement, and the next hearing in the case is a pre-trial hearing on Dec. 4 in. Polk County.

A jury trial was originally scheduled for July this year, but a family emergency for defense counsel at that time led to a continuance and new trial date on Jan. 21-24, 2025.

According to the original probable cause statement, a juvenile male reported a stabbing at Miller Storage, and that the suspect had chased him with a knife.

Upon arrival, officers located the body of a deceased adult male, later identified as Hunter, with apparent wounds to the upper torso.

Officers on scene were able to identify Randolph as a suspect and arrested him near the scene.

Detectives were notified and responded to work the scene.

According to a probable cause statement filed by Det. Stu Lombard, during a post-Miranda interview, Randolph allegedly admitted to knowingly causing the death of the victim. Three witnesses were also identified.

The incident is first alleged murder inside the city limits of Cassville since the stabbing death of Vicki Clark in 2011.