John Charles Nemeth, 28, of Hillsboro recently was sentenced to 15 years in prison following felony charges for robbery, burglary, felonious restraint and other offenses, court records show.
On July 30, 2014, Nemeth, accompanied by several others, unlawfully entered an apartment in the 1000 block of Brickyard Road in the Hillsboro area and threatened two occupants with a bat and stole $1,150 in cash and a cell phone and told the occupants “they would burn alive” if they contacted law enforcement about the incident, the probable-cause statement said.
Nemeth and the others allegedly went to the apartment looking for another person who lived there but wasn’t home at the time. The suspects kept the two occupants inside the apartment for five hours until they gave up waiting for the man they were looking for, the report said.
The victims told deputies “they were in great fear for their safety throughout the incident.” They also said the suspects “consider themselves a gang,” so the victims believed their threats were real, according to the report.
In December 2013, Nemeth was involved in a two-vehicle accident at Hwy. 30 and Industrial Drive in Cedar Hill and left the scene of the accident, court papers indicate.
Two people in the other vehicle were hurt, the report said.
Nemeth’s vehicle was found a short time later abandoned on the shoulder of westbound Hwy. 30, and then Nemeth was found shortly thereafter in the 7100 block of Burgess Ford Road. Nemeth told a Missouri State Highway Patrol officer that he left the scene of the accident because he was wanted on an arrest warrant, according to the report.
In January 2013, Nemeth, with the help of another man, stole a bag of synthetic marijuana from the Fenton Park Market, 1070 S. Old Hwy. 141, the report said.
Both men pushed a clerk who tried to block them from leaving the store and then Nemeth got in a scuffle with a witness who confronted him outside the store, and Nemeth lost a necklace, hat and shoe at the scene before leaving, the report said.
Nemeth pleaded guilty to all the charges in the three cases – second-degree robbery, first-degree burglary, felonious restraint and third-degree assault stemming from the July 2014 incident, as well as to leaving to the scene of an accident for the December 2013 incident and to second-degree robbery for the January 2013 incident.
On April 27, Jefferson County Div. 3 Circuit Judge Nathan B. Stewart sentenced Nemeth to three 15-year terms – one each for the two second-degree robbery charges and one for the first-degree burglary charge – as well as seven years for felonious restraint, four years for leaving the scene of an accident and 120 days in jail for the assault charge.
However, those terms are to be served concurrently, or at the same time. In addition, Nemeth may be released early if he successfully completes a 24-month treatment program, according to the report.
Jefferson County assistant prosecuting attorney Douglas S. Pribble handled the cases.
Another defendant in the July 2014 case, Brian Helm, 21, of Perryville, has been charged with second-degree robbery, first-degree burglary and kidnapping, all felonies, and third-degree assault, a misdemeanor, and that case is still pending, court records indicate.
Jacob D. Wolfe, 24, of Hillsboro was charged with second-degree robbery, a felony, in connection with the January 2013 case, and after he pleaded guilty, he was sentenced in August 2014 to five years in prison. But, the sentence was suspended, and he got five years’ probation, according to court papers.
Nemeth also is facing a felony drug charge stemming from a July 2014 incident in Jefferson County, and that case is pending, court records show.