WILLIAM A. STATLER, d/o/b 6-08-1976, of Blue Eye, Missouri, was sentenced on Tuesday, January 10, 2017, to five (5) years in prison for the class C felonies of tampering with a motor vehicle in the first degree and burglary in the second degree. Taney County Circuit Court Judge Tony Williams sentenced Statler to the prison terms upon accepting Statler’s pleas of guilty in the two (2) felony cases, pursuant to a plea agreement between the Statler and the Taney County Prosecutor’s Office.

On April 23, 2015, Statler was found operating a stolen motorcycle on West State Highway 76, in Branson. Statler was identified by Branson Police before fleeing from the officers on foot, leaving the stolen motorcycle behind. Then, on May 31, 2015, Taney County deputies were alerted by a security alarm at a home in Hollister. Deputies found the homeowners were out-of-town, and several items were damaged or missing from the residence. Through the investigation, fingerprints were obtained from a honey jar and sent to the Missouri State Highway Patrol Crime Lab, by which Statler was identified.

Both tampering with a motor vehicle in the first degree and burglary in the second degree were class C felonies. A class C felony – for crimes committed before January 1, 2017 – is punishable by up to seven (7) years in the Missouri Department of Corrections and/or a $5,000.00 fine.