David Jungerman’s legal problems have increased exponentially in recent days.
Jungerman, the 79-year-old Raytown man who has been questioned in the murder of Kansas City lawyer Thomas Pickert, is now facing a felony charge of attempted burglary in Barton County, about 120 miles south of Kansas City.
He had been facing only a misdemeanor charge in connection with a breaking-and-entering case filed in 2016, but “amended felony information” was filed last Wednesday.
The misdemeanor case was scheduled to go to trial tomorrow, but with the new developments, both cases have been continued. A pre-trial conference is scheduled for Dec. 14, and Jungerman has told the judge he is looking for an attorney. In the meantime, he is free on bond.
The filing of a felony charge is a significant development in the case of a man who had a strong motive to kill Pickert. Instead of being sentenced to a maximum of a year in jail on a misdemeanor charge, he could be sentenced — if convicted of attempted burglary — to up to seven years in state prison.
Pickert, 39, was shot outside his Brookside home the morning of Oct. 25, after walking his two sons to school. He was talking on his cell phone when shot, perhaps by a rifleman firing from inside or behind a white van parked across the street.
Jungerman
Police immediately focused on Jungerman. Last summer, Pickert represented a plaintiff who won a $5.75 million civil verdict against Jungerman for shooting the man while he was trespassing on property Jungerman owns in northeast Kansas City.
After the jury had left the courtroom, Jungerman leveled an “angry outburst” at Pickert and others still in the courtroom. Police have not said if Jungerman threatened Pickert in that outburst, and the trial transcript ends before it occurred. In addition, the court was moving to seize property of Jungerman’s to satisfy the jury award.
Police and prosecutors have circumstantial evidence against Jungerman in the Pickert murder, but they apparently have been short of physical evidence.
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The filing of a felony charge dovetails with a prosecutorial strategy a well-connected criminal defense attorney outlined for me recently. The attorney said the Jackson County prosecutor’s office was eager to bring some type of felony charge or charges against Jungerman; get a conviction; get him behind bars and hope he died in prison.
The attorney told me authorities were looking at possible white-collar crimes — perhaps income-tax related — but it apparently turned out that the case pending in southwest Missouri presented the best option.
This morning, I spoke with Mike Mansur, spokesman for Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker, and asked him if Baker’s office was aware of the Barton County developments and if Jackson County was collaborating with prosecutors on the burglary case. He said he would speak with the assistant prosecutor assigned to the Pickert murder and get back with me.
The harassment and attempted burglary charges stem from a break-in or attempted break-in that occurred June 28, 2016, in rural Vernon County, due south of Kansas City along Interstate 49. (Jungerman owns thousands of acres of farm land in Vernon County and nearby Bates County.)
A police “probable cause” statement filed in that case says Jungerman was renting a home he owns to a man he wanted out. The probable cause statement says Jungerman kicked in the door of the home and confronted the tenant, demanding to know, “When are you getting out of here you mother fucker?”
The tenant said Jungerman had a handgun in his waistband, and a witness said Jungerman placed his hand on the gun while “yelling and cussing” at the tenant.
A sheriff’s deputy responding to a 9-1-1 call from a witness spoke with Jungerman outside the house. The deputy said he told Jungerman that in order to remove the tenant “he had to go through the legal eviction process.” The deputy also asked Jungerman if he had a firearm, and Jungerman said he had one in the center console of his car.
The deputy then retrieved a .40 caliber Glock, semi-automatic handgun from the console. “There was (stet) a total of 10 hollow point rounds in the Glock,” the deputy wrote in the probably cause statement.
The June 28, 2016, incident came up in the course of last summer’s civil trial in Jackson County. Under questioning by Pickert, Jungerman said he did not kick in the door and denied threatening the renter. He said he wanted the renter out because he had damaged some farm equipment of Jungerman’s.
Jungerman testified: “There was no violence whatsoever there. I carry a gun, sure. And I have a permit to carry that gun. But in no way was it threatened or displayed to him. I do not do that.”
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The Vernon County case was originally filed as a felony but was reduced somewhere along the way to a misdemeanor. It was also transferred to Barton County, for reasons I could not determine. Vernon County Prosecutor Brandi McInroy is prosecuting the case. This morning, I called McInroy’s office. An assistant said she was in but was meeting with people and could not talk to me.
McInroy has been in a courtroom with Jungerman at some point, perhaps recently. A week ago today, either the judge or a clerk posted this note in the public court record:
“It was evident in court that the prosecutor did not want Defendant to stand next to her and the court did have Defendant stand a short ways away from the prosecutor. The Barton County court always has 3 Bailiffs and sometimes the Sheriff or other officers are present as well. The Defendant at the hearing in Vernon County stated that he has been accused falsely of being involved in the death of an attorney and that would be detrimental to this case. That may have caused some additional concern to make sure that no one disturbs the court proceedings for either side.”
…David Jungerman has dealt with a lot of legal problems in the past, but with this new change of direction, he is up against the most serious charges he has ever faced, by far.
JimmyCsays: At the juncture of journalism and daily life in KC 
I hope they’re keeping a close eye on him, because with all this mounting pressure he’s likely to blow like Vesuvius and want to hurt (some more) people.
It is precisely all of this “strategy” that gives the justice system a bad name. If what was done previously deserves felony consideration, charge it as such. But to reduce something now deserving a felony charge to a misdemeanor, and then change the charge because a different case lacks evidence, is not objective law. The same holds for “criminal” vs “civil” court.
It should have been a felony all along. That’s what’s wrong with the justice system in this case.
Jungerman has certainly given the prosecution plenty of material in the past to paint him as a reckless man who crosses the legal lines to threaten people. Do your attorney friends think the prosecution has a good shot at winning this case? What is the typical timeline of a trial of this nature?
The prosecution has three first-hand witnesses — the renter and two other people who were at the home at the time. All three say Jungerman kicked in the front door. That is burglary. All three say he had his hand on the gun in his waistband, and all three quoted him as saying to the renter, “When are you getting out, mother fucker?” That is harassment, at the very least.
If those three witnesses testify, Jungerman is cooked. The judge has ordered him to stay away from those witnesses as part of his bond.
Everyone who is now positioned in this guy’s realm — lawyers, the Vernon County prosecutor, the witnesses…even me — are very leery. He’s a self-appointed vigilante who operates completely outside the law and thinks he’s justified in doing whatever he does because he’s been wronged.
This is a dangerous situation. We will all be lucky if no one else gets shot.
I have also learned that the Jackson and Vernon county prosecutor’s offices are working together on the burglary/harassment case.
Your safety has been on my mind. Please be as careful as you can be.
Thanks, Bob. I’m particularly attentive to my surroundings these days…
If I were 79 and facing any sentence, knowing it would be a life sentence, I might just decide to go whole hog and hunt down just about anyone who pissed me off. This guy needs to have his bond revoked given the record of violence he’s already established, he has nothing to lose by going on a rampage. And yes, you have to assume he’s read this blog and is aware of its content.
Agreed John-I’m surprised he’s not on some sort of house arrest given his history of violence. Stay safe Jim!
Good to know my Comments Dept. pals are concerned about me!