Rural Justice Report

Tracking Local Crime and Court Cases

This is a Crime Page dedicated to keeping our community informed about court cases and legal matters occurring in Cedar County and the surrounding areas. As residents of rural America, it is essential to stay aware of the issues affecting our neighborhoods. Knowledge fosters safety and community engagement.

Through this platform, we aim to shed light on local legal proceedings and empower our readers to stay informed. Please remember that all individuals charged with a crime are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. The El Dorado Springs Sun strives to present accurate information but cannot be held liable for any errors or omissions in our reporting.

Stay updated on local cases by subscribing to The El Dorado Springs Sun. Please send all corrections or typos to sunpub@centurylink.net, including the article information in the subject line.

El Dorado Springs man with long legal history arrested again on felony charges

From the El Dorado Springs Newsroom

A 33-year-old El Dorado Springs man with a long record of felony cases and repeated failures to appear in court was taken into custody Friday, Aug. 15, on new warrants for statutory rape and passing bad checks.

Joshua Ohman was booked into jail by the El Dorado Springs Police Department. No bond has been set. The arrest stems from cases originally filed in 2020 in Cedar County Circuit Court. Both charges had been pending for years after Ohman repeatedly missed hearings, resulting in multiple warrants.

Court records show Prosecuting Attorney Ty Gaither first filed a statutory rape in the second-degree charge against Ohman on Oct. 13, 2020. The case has been before Judge Munton. Since 2021, Ohman has failed to appear at several scheduled hearings, prompting Judge Munton to issue warrants in September 2021, July 2022, and March 2023. Each time, capias warrants were served by the Cedar County Sheriff’s Office.

The statutory rape case has cycled through several public defenders, including Frank Yankoviz, Madison Touchstone, and Michael McGuinness. In December 2022, Judge Munton granted a state motion requiring DNA samples. Court proceedings continued into 2023 with repeated delays before another failure to appear in March 2023 led to a no-bond warrant.

In a separate case, Ohman was charged with felony passing bad checks in August 2020. The charges involve multiple incidents between Aug. 18 and Aug. 22, 2020. These charges also saw repeated delays and failures to appear.

Ohman’s criminal record in Cedar County stretches back more than a decade. Cases include felony filings in 2011, misdemeanor cases in 2013, an infraction in 2018, and adult abuse/protection order filings in 2020.

Court dockets show a pattern: Ohman often appeared by polycom while in custody, asked for bond reductions, and sought continuances. Prosecutors, led by Gaither, regularly opposed reductions, citing the risk of non-appearance. Judges denied those requests multiple times, noting Ohman was unlikely to return voluntarily.

With his most recent arrest on Aug. 15, 2025, Ohman remains in custody. As of press time, no new court date has been posted.

Stockton man arrested on warrant in long-running non-support case

From the El Dorado Springs Sun Newsroom

A Cedar County man with a lengthy court record tied to a child support case is back in custody following his arrest Friday, Aug. 15, on a warrant for failure to appear.

David Reser, 47, of Nixa, was arrested by the Cedar County Sheriff’s Office after a cash-only bond of $500 was issued earlier this summer when he missed a scheduled court hearing. The case, which centers on felony non-support charges, has wound its way through the courts since 2023 with repeated delays and continuances.

The charge alleges Reser fell into arrears of more than 12 monthly payments under a support order. Prosecuting Attorney Jill Espelien is handling the case. Public defender Keegan Whipple represents Reser.

Court records show the case was first filed in March 2023, with Reser arraigned before Judge David Munton the following month. He entered a not guilty plea and was released on bond. Since then, the docket has been marked by more than a dozen continuances, bond transfers, attorney changes, and repeated resets of case management conferences and plea/trial settings.

In July 2024, then-Prosecuting Attorney John Parks was still handling the matter when Reser asked the court to apply $500 in bond money toward child support. Judge Munton approved the request. Later that year, Espelien took over as prosecutor, and the case continued to be delayed.

On June 9, 2025, Reser failed to appear for a scheduled case management conference. Judge Munton ordered a warrant and set the $500 cash-only bond. That warrant was served with Reser’s arrest this past Friday.

Repeat Offender Patalsky Jailed on Probation Violation

From the El Dorado Springs Sun Newsroom

Jacob J. Patalsky, 44, of Osceola, was booked into the Cedar County Jail on Aug. 14, 2025, on a probation violation — the latest chapter in a long and troubling legal history that stretches back more than a decade.

Patalsky, who the Cedar County Sheriff’s Office arrested, remains held without bond. His booking record lists him under medium-level inmate classification for drug possession and use. In a striking note, jail records indicate Patalsky appeared smiling in his mug shot.

Court records show Patalsky’s criminal record includes repeated convictions for drug possession, stealing, and multiple probation violations.

• 2015–2017: Patalsky was twice the subject of full orders of protection issued in Cedar County, prohibiting him from stalking, harassing, or contacting petitioners. In 2017, Judge Thomas Pyle granted a protection order that barred him from contacting the petitioner or entering her presence.

• 2018: Patalsky pleaded guilty to felony drug possession (possession of a controlled substance other than marijuana). Judge David Munton sentenced him to five years in the Missouri Department of Corrections, but execution of the sentence was suspended, and he was placed on supervised probation. That probation was revoked later in 2019.

• 2019: On May 17, Patalsky pleaded guilty to stealing — his fourth or subsequent offense within 10 years — and was sentenced to two years in DOC. The sentence was ordered to run consecutively to two other felony cases, both drug-related. Prosecuting Attorney Ty Gaither represented the state.

• 2020–2021: While on parole, Patalsky picked up new felony drug charges. In September 2020, El Dorado Springs police arrested him for possession of a controlled substance. Court records show he entered a guilty plea in April 2023, with Judge Munton sentencing him to five years, suspended for probation.

• 2021–2022: Hearings in Cedar County were repeatedly delayed as Patalsky entered treatment programs. However, he missed multiple appearances, and warrants were issued.

• 2023: His probation was revoked on June 12, 2023, after Judge Munton found violations for failure to report and residency issues. Attorney Michael McGuinness, who had represented Patalsky, was granted leave to withdraw. Gaither again prosecuted the case. Patalsky was ordered to serve his five-year DOC sentence.

• 2024: In August, his case was reviewed but found not eligible for reconsideration.

• 2025: On Aug. 14, he was arrested again in Cedar County for probation violation, returning him to jail custody.

Court scheduling following his Aug. 14 arrest is expected to proceed in the coming weeks, though an official hearing date has not been posted yet.

Gerlt Jailed on Probation Violation, Faces Long Legal Trail

From The El Dorado Springs Newsroom

Christopher Ross Gerlt, 40, was arrested by the Cedar County Sheriff’s Office after Judge Jacob Dawson issued a capias warrant on Aug. 13 following a probation violation report filed the day before. Prosecuting Attorney Ty Gaither filed the motion, citing Gerlt’s repeated failures to comply with probation conditions.

Gerlt is scheduled for a disposition hearing on Wednesday, Aug. 20, at 10 a.m. before Judge Dawson in Stockton. If probation is revoked, his previously suspended prison sentences could be activated.

Court records show that Dawson found Gerlt in violation of probation in December 2024, yet the case has not been resolved. Instead, the final disposition hearing has been rescheduled repeatedly throughout 2025 — from January to February, then April, May, June, and now August. Each continuance has postponed the question of whether Gerlt will serve his suspended prison terms.

Gerlt’s current troubles stem from a felony case in which he entered an Alford plea on June 26, 2024, to tampering with a motor vehicle. He received a five-year suspended execution of sentence and probation.

That case followed earlier pleas in May 2023, when Gerlt admitted guilt under Alford pleas to first-degree burglary and first-degree domestic assault, both from June 2021 charges. He was sentenced to 10 years on each count, but the sentences were suspended, and he was placed on supervised probation.

Earlier convictions include a 2013 case where Gerlt pleaded guilty to persistent DWI and driving without a valid license, which led to prison time after probation was revoked.

As of press time, Gerlt remains in the Cedar County Jail with no bond set. His next hearing is Aug. 20 before Dawson—a separate disposition hearing before Judge Brandon Fisher is scheduled for Sept. 26.