Suspended sentences, probation given to defendants for dealing meth, domestic assault and shooting two people


Betty Ousley

Jeffrey Pine

Rhonda Sprague

Three defendants in Ozark County court were given suspended sentences and probation as punishment during Nov. 9 session of Ozark County Law Day before Circuit Judge Craig Carter. 

When suspended sentences are offered as punishment,  the defendant does not necessarily have to serve the term in prison. Many times, they do not ever go to prison. Instead, they are placed on probation, and the suspended sentence acts as a sort of “back up” sentence, which the judge has the option to enact if the defendants violate the probation enough times.

In the cases of a suspended imposition of sentence (SIS), the charge is removed from the defendant’s record after they successfully complete probation. In a suspended execution of sentence (SES), the charge remains as part of the person’s criminal record from that point forward. 

 

Betty Ousley

trafficking methamphetamine

After a search warrant was executed on her Tecumseh home on Dec. 27, 2021, Betty Ousley, age 60 at the time, reportedly told Ozark County Sheriff’s Deputy Seth Miller that she purchased a large amount of methamphetamine in Oklahoma the day prior and transported it back to Ozark County in her vehicle in preparation to sell the drugs locally over the following month. 

Miller told the Times shortly after the arrest that it was difficult to say exactly how much Ousley would have sold the 168 grams of methamphetamine for, but he estimated the drugs to be worth approximately $10,000. 

The search warrant was executed by the Ozark/Douglas Counties Multi-Jurisdictional Task Force at 1:30 a.m. two days after Christmas last year.

“Once entry to the residence was made, Betty Ousley was found in the living area close to the front door and placed into restraints. Betty was read her Miranda Warning and given a copy of the complaint for search warrant,” Miller wrote in his report.

In addition to the methamphetamine, officers also found seven Xanax tablets, digital scales, small plastic bags, notebooks recording cash transactions, marijuana in a pill bottle and $1,489 in cash. 

Several firearms including a Remington 870 12-gauge shotgun, Maverick 88 12-gauge shotgun, Remington 770 .270 and a Remington 770 330 mag were found at the home. 

Ousley pleaded guilty to trafficking drugs (more than 90 grams of methamphetamine) during the Nov. 9 session of Ozark County Law Day and was sentenced to 10 years in prison. The execution of the sentence was suspended, meaning she does not necessarily have to serve the  prison sentence. Instead, her immediate punishment is supervised probation for five years. 

 Additional charges that were dropped included possession of a controlled substance, four counts of unlawful use of weapon (possessing a weapon while possessing a controlled substance), keeping or maintaining a public nuisance in relation to “possessing over 90 grams of methamphetamine and all necessary paraphernalia needed to distribute that methamphetamine and knowing that the premises were being used for the illegal distribution of methamphetamine” and two misdemeanor charges of possession of marijuana and unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia. 

 

Jeffrey Pine, 

domestic assault

Pontiac resident Jeffrey Pine pleaded guilty to domestic assault and was sentenced to four years in the Missouri Department of Corrections. The execution was suspended, and he was placed on supervised probation for four years. 

Pine, who was 35 at the time, was indicted by an Ozark County grand jury indictment Aug. 16 on two counts of domestic assault and tampering with a victim in a felony prosecution. The additional domestic assault count and tampering charges were dismissed. 

According to the probable cause statement, prepared by Ozark County Sheriff’s Deputy Matt Rhoades, he was dispatched to a call of a domestic assault at a residence on W Highway around noon Aug. 14. 

Rhoades wrote in his report that he made contact with the woman once he arrived, and he saw that she had a black eye on her left eye and visible marks and bruises on both arms, along with abrasions on her neck that were consistent with being choked. 

The woman reportedly said Pine pushed her to the ground and slapped and choked her two days earlier, causing the black eye, bruises on her elbows and choking marks on her neck. 

She said then earlier that day, she’d tried to run away from him, and he tackled her to the ground in the gravel driveway, causing bruising on her right knee. She said he slapped her again and ordered her to go back inside the house. 

The victim was able to get her cell phone and text a friend, who then called the 911 dispatch line. 

“Jeffrey has told her several times and has made it understood that if she ever went to law enforcement to report the abuse, he would kill her. She is in fear for her life,” Rhoades wrote. 

Rhoades said that there was a short stand-off at the residence when officers arrived to arrest him, but ultimately Pine exited the home and was taken into custody. He was read his Miranda warning, and he reportedly told the officer that he did not want to incriminate himself and that there was more to the incident than just him striking the woman. 

 

Rhonda Sprague, 

assault by shooting two people

Gainesville resident Rhonda Sprague, who had pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree assault during a September Ozark County Law Day, appeared Nov. 9 for a sentencing hearing. Carter reviewed a sentencing advisory report and gave Sprague a suspended imposition of sentence (SIS) and placed her on supervised probation for five years. 

Sprague, who was 56 at the time, was originally charged with first-degree assault and discharging a weapon at another person, both class B felonies. Instead, her charges were amended to class D felonies, which she pleaded guilty to. If convicted of the original charges, she would have been sentenced to a minimum of 5 years and up to 15 years in prison. 

According to the probable cause statement filed by Rhoades, the officer was conducting uniformed patrol in Ozark County around 11:30 p.m. May 6, when the 911 dispatch office contacted him and asked him to respond to a shooting at the Sprague residence on Highway 181 in the Brixey area. 

When Rhoades arrived on scene, the witnesses and victims of the incident told the officer that Rhonda Sprague had been drinking alcohol throughout the night and had become angry “about everything.”

Rhonda reportedly got into an argument with her son Kyle, grabbed a semi-automatic pistol and went outside.

She then reportedly shot the gun three times at Kyle’s girlfriend, who was attempting to leave the residence in her vehicle. After the three shots were discharged, Kyle reportedly grabbed Rhonda’s arm, causing the firearm to point in another direction. During the struggle, Rhonda pulled the trigger two more times, and the bullets hit two bystanders. One victim was hit in the arm and in the side of the body. The other victim was hit in the wrist. 

“Rhonda made a spontaneous statement that she shot a couple rounds in the air towards [her son’s girlfriend] and the firearm went off and a projectile struck the two bystanders,” Rhoades reported. “I informed Rhonda that she was being arrested for assault and threats.”

She is charged with first-degree assault, second-degree assault, three counts of armed criminal action, discharging a firearm at a person (persistent offender) and unlawful use of a loaded weapon. 

Ozark County Times

504 Third Steet
PO Box 188
Gainesville, MO 65655

Phone: (417) 679-4641
Fax: (417) 679-3423