On Tuesday, April 30, 2019, Taney County Associate Circuit Court Judge R. Tiffany Yarnell sentenced RAYMOND TATUM, d/o/b 3-05-1994, to ten (10) years in prison for the class A felony of robbery in the first degree.
On the evening of November 25, 2017, Tatum stopped a car on Main Street near Business 65 in Branson and demanded that the driver exit the vehicle. Tatum threatened the victim, who was a teenager, with a handgun that appeared real, although it was later determined to be an air gun. Tatum also threatened a Good Samaritan passerby who nonetheless intervened and helped the victim escape the scene of the robbery. Within moments afterward, Branson police officers arrived and caught Tatum in the driver’s seat of the stolen vehicle. An alleged accomplice of Tatum fled the scene on foot but was quickly tracked down by a police K-9 unit.
Just four days prior to the robbery, Tatum had been placed on probation in another county for a felony of harassment. He was in Branson to attend a sober living program. His other criminal history included stealing, resisting arrest, trespass, and violating an order of protection.
At the sentencing hearing on April 30, the Court received written statements from the victim and her family who described her terror on the night of the robbery, and the fear she continues to feel when out driving alone after dark or when approaching strangers. She asked the Court to send the defendant to prison.