David Jungerman, whom police questioned in the October murder of Kansas City lawyer Thomas Pickert, recently made a decision that will greatly increase his chances of beating a felony charge in southwest Missouri.
David Jungerman
He hired an attorney.
This is bad news for those of us who believe Jungerman shot and killed Pickert, who had helped a client win a $5.75 million civil verdict against Jungerman.
In the absence of solid evidence in the Pickert case, the southwest Missouri case may well be the best opportunity to get Jungerman behind bars.
Jungerman had been representing himself for almost a year, since a Joplin defense attorney withdrew. The case, in which Jungerman is charged with attempted burglary, is scheduled to go to trial April 3. A pretrial conference, which had been scheduled for Feb. 15, has now been pushed back to March 15.
Stymied in the Pickert case, the Jackson County prosecutor’s office has worked with Vernon County Prosecutor Brandi McInroy to try to get Jungerman convicted of attempted burglary in the southwest Missouri case.
The goals are: 1) get a conviction, 2) get a prison sentence of several years, and 3) hope the 79-year-old Jungerman dies in prison.
As long as Jungerman was representing himself (self-representation is called “pro se”), the odds were very good, given his legal naiveté and lack of training, that he would be convicted.
Jungerman’s chances of beating the charge have now increased markedly.
This is not an open-and-shut case, and an experienced defense attorney should be able to exploit inconsistencies that have arisen.
In June 2016, Jungerman is alleged to have kicked at the door of a home he owns outside Nevada, MO, in Vernon County. With a hand on a .40-caliber Glock stuffed in his waistband, he demanded of the tenant, “When are you getting out of here, you mother fucker?”
One of the problems is that Prosecutor McInroy originally charged Jungerman with burglary, alleging that Jungerman kicked the door open before entering. A few months ago, McInroy lowered the charge to attempted burglary and changed the wording in the charge to say Jungerman “kicked at” the door.
Burglary is a Class B felony in Missouri, punishable by 5 to 15 years in prison. Attempted burglary is a Class C felony, which carries maximum imprisonment of seven years.
For his part, Jungerman does not deny saying what he allegedly said or having a handgun in his waistband. (“I always carry a gun,” he has said.) But he contends he did not kick at or kick in the door. He also disputes that he can be charged with attempting to enter a house that he owns.
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The judge overseeing the case, David R. Munton, has repeatedly urged Jungerman to hire an attorney. Jungerman contended at one point that he couldn’t afford an attorney and asked Judge Munton to appoint one.
The judge refused. In the Jackson County civil case in which Pickert represented a man whom Jungerman had shot, Jungerman acknowledged he was a multi-millionaire and that he owned thousands of acres of farmland in southwest Missouri.
At one hearing, while urging Jungerman to hire an attorney, Judge Munton said something to this effect:
“If you have appendicitis, you can cut yourself open with a knife and remove your appendix, but most people seek help.”
Last month, Jungerman finally took Munton’s advice. On Jan. 22, a Springfield criminal defense attorney named S. Dean Price Jr. entered his appearance on Jungerman’s behalf.
Words in large type at the top of Price’s website say, “Sometimes even small cases need a big lawyer.”
The website goes on to say:
“If you’re facing felony charges, you know that you need a criminal defense lawyer who puts your defense and your interests at the forefront….When your future is on the line, choose a defense attorney who has dedicated his life to the idea that every defendant deserves the best possible representation.”
Jungerman’s future is definitely on the line. He will turn 80 next month, and he has taken an action that might mean he won’t celebrate his 81st birthday behind bars.
I hope that’s not the case, but hiring an attorney was decidedly in his own best interests.
JimmyCsays: At the juncture of journalism and daily life in KC 
The attorney can probably dwaddle the case around for a couple of years until the guy dies of old age.
Jungerman has already demonstrated he understands the importance of “delay, delay, delay.” The case — a very simple one — is already 20 months old.
This is a classic strategy, you go to court and ask for a continuance until the witnesses fail to show up and then you ask for a dismissal because there are no witnesses. Very popular in most urban areas.
That’s ok, I believe there’ll be restitution — this side or the other (to quote a movie).
Mostly for the sake of Dr. Riegel and their two young sons, “this side” is the appropriate starting point.
Bummer. I was looking forward to him sealing his own fate.
I got a call this morning (Tuesday) from Dean Price, the Springfield attorney who is representing Jungerman. He said he was scheduled to meet later today with prosecutor Brandi McInroy regarding the case. One of the subjects they will discuss, he said, was whether he would seek to proceed with depositions of prosecution witnesses. At a hearing on Jan. 9, Jungerman said he wanted to take the witnesses’ depositions, and tentative arrangements were made, but Price said no depositions have been taken so far.
Price said he began his legal career in the Kansas City area more than 30 years ago, working as an assistant Jackson County public defender. He has spent the last 30 years in Springfield.
Asked how he came to represent Jungerman, he replied, “My understanding is I was recommended to him by people he knows in the Kansas City area.”
…In addition to the felony charge, Jungerman is also charged with misdemeanor harassment in the southwest Missouri case. My guess is Price may attempt to seek a plea agreement in which Jungerman would plead guilty to the harassment charge in return for the state dropping the attempted burglary charge.
I don’t believe the state will compromise under any circumstances, however. I think the prosecutor will roll the dice and go for a felony conviction and, as I said above, try to get a sentence of several years. The state is not interested in convicting Jungerman of a misdemeanor, which carries a maximum punishment of a year in jail. Not prison, a county jail.