Stoddard County man sentenced to 50 years for 5 separate burglaries
STODDARD COUNTY, Mo. (KBSI) – A man from Advance and Bell City was sentenced to 50 years for five separate burglaries.
Shawn Yount, of Advance and Bell City was sentenced to 50 years in the Missouri Department of Corrections by the Honorable Joe Z. Satterfield.
A week long jury trial that began on May 2. At the conclusion of the trial, the jury returned guilty verdicts on five separate burglaries.
“Shawn Yount has been a menace to Stoddard County business owners and residents,” said Stoddard County Prosecuting Attorney Russ Oliver. “That now ends today. He is a professional criminal and very good at making prosecuting him extremely difficult. This was a complicated and detailed trial that our office put together over several months. The case investigation and evidence gathering was done primarily by Captain Garry Brady with the Stoddard County Sheriff’s Office, Advance Police Department, Bollinger County Sheriff’s Office and members of the Missouri State Highway Patrol. I can not commend highly enough the tireless and excellent work our law enforcement officials provided to stop this career criminal.”
Evidence was presented over the course of the week long trial that showed Yount’s planning and commission of the burglaries with multiple accomplices. The string of burglaries targeted businesses and homes in the Advance area as well as the Mennonite community in Stoddard County.
At sentencing, evidence was presented showing Yount’s lack of remorse for his victims displayed in a pre-sentence interview, his criminal history which included 15 prior felony convictions in several different counties for convictions of robbery, kidnapping and numerous burglaries, and argument from Stoddard County Prosecuting Attorney Russ Oliver.
“This 50 year sentence is a message to would be professional criminals about the Stoddard County Justice System. We will not tolerate professional organized criminal activity,” said Oliver. “If you think you are smart enough to make prosecution difficult, our law enforcement community and the Prosecutor’s Office have the necessary knowledge, skill, and will work day and night to ensure that you do not escape justice.”