Defendant ordered to stand trial in motel robbery, shooting
Sep. 21—The victim of a robbery and shooting a month ago at a Joplin motel testified Thursday that he went there after making an arrangement through the online app Skip the Games to meet a woman.
The 34-year-old man was the first of two witnesses called by the state to testify at the Jasper County Circuit Court preliminary hearing for Joshua J. Gauerke, 44, on charges of first-degree robbery, armed criminal action and unlawful possession of a firearm.
Gauerke and the 31-year-old woman involved, Cassandra N. Jeffries, are accused of conspiring to rob the man when he came to the Motel 7 on Range Line Road.
He told the court that — despite being a felon himself prohibited by law from possessing firearms — he took his girlfriend's handgun with him to keep from being robbed. He also said he had $1,800 on him at the time.
He said he entered the second-floor room where Jeffries was and headed for the room's bathroom, only to find two men hiding.
"They pulled a gun and told me to empty my pockets," he said.
He testified that the woman got up and locked the door to the room as the robbery was in progress, and that when he did as he was told, his robbers snatched the money up and ordered him to stay in the bathroom until they were gone or they would fill him "with holes."
As he heard them leave, he came out of the bathroom, pulled the gun he had on him and opened the door to see which way they were fleeing. He testified that as he did, the one with the gun shot at him and he raised his own gun and fired a round into the air. The fleeing gunman fired a second round at him as he ducked around a corner of the motel and disappeared, he told the court.
No one was shot in the incident, according to police reports and testimony at the hearing.
Defense attorney Craig Lowe cross-examined the witness concerning his own criminal history, which cites a conviction for burglary.
The victim, who has not been charged with any offense in the case, did acknowledge on cross-examination that both robbers were wearing face coverings, which made identification of them problematic.
But the state also called Joplin police Cpl. Rusty Comer to testify that motel surveillance showed both Jeffries and the gunman fleeing the room ahead of the victim.
Comer said he questioned Gauerke and that he admitted meeting Jeffries at the motel and planning the robbery with her. He also purportedly told police where he had stashed the money and disposed of the gun, and both the cash and weapon were recovered by investigators.
Associate Judge Joseph Hensley decided there was probable cause for Gauerke to stand trial on the charges and set his initial appearance in a trial division for Oct. 4. Jeffries, who is charged with robbery and conspiracy to commit a robbery, has yet to be scheduled for a hearing.
