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; however, we 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.
Cedar County man faces new felony drug charge; court records show long history of local cases
From the El Dorado Springs Newsroom
Terry Ray Usher Jr., 32, of El Dorado Springs, was booked into the Cedar County Jail on Dec. 2, 2025, on a warrant for possession of a controlled substance, with a bond set at $10,000 cash or surety. He was arrested by the Cedar County Sheriff’s Office.
According to a warrant affidavit filed by El Dorado Springs Police Officer Frank Lambrecht, officers served a search warrant on Nov. 24 on a city lot in Cedar County that included a shed and a tent occupied by Usher and another individual. Officers reported finding digital scales with methamphetamine residue, a bank bag containing what they described as two “eight balls” of methamphetamine, and plastic bags with additional methamphetamine residue, along with packaging materials commonly associated with distribution. The affidavit states investigators believe Usher and the co-occupant were receiving larger quantities of methamphetamine and breaking it down for sale in the El Dorado Springs area.
Court records show that on Dec. 1, Cedar County Prosecuting Attorney Ty Gaither filed a felony complaint alleging delivery of a controlled substance, keeping or maintaining a public nuisance, and possession of drug paraphernalia, all in connection with the Nov. 24 search. A warrant was issued the same day.
Usher appeared by Webex from custody for arraignment on Dec. 3. The court advised him of his rights, including the right to remain silent, the right to counsel, and the right to a preliminary hearing. Usher asked for release on his own recognizance, while the state requested a $10,000 cash or surety bond. The court set bond at $10,000, cash or surety, with conditions, and noted that Usher intended to apply for representation by the public defender. The case was scheduled for a case management conference on Dec. 17 at 9:30 a.m. before Associate Circuit Judge Dawson.
On Dec. 4, the court entered conditions of release. On Dec. 5, attorney Bearden filed an entry of appearance on behalf of Usher. He submitted a motion for discovery, along with electronic certificates of service, in the felony case.
Online records also show Usher as the defendant in several other Cedar County cases. In El Dorado Springs Municipal, he pleaded guilty on Dec. 3, 2024, to a municipal theft/larceny charge for copper wire taken from the DunBrooke building. He was fined $100 plus court costs. Since that sentencing, the municipal docket reflects numerous payment review hearings, continuances, summonses to appear, and a warrant issued in November 2024 after a reported failure to appear, followed by a later warrant recall when he appeared in court. Judge Beydler is listed as the municipal Judge in that matter.
Additional Cedar County dockets list Usher as a defendant in other cases, including an earlier felony case, a nuisance case, and a traffic case, all filed in the 28th Judicial Circuit. Those matters remain separate from the current drug case and are at various procedural stages.
This report is based solely on records from Cedar County courts and law enforcement agencies and does not include any search of cases outside Cedar County.
As of press time, the individual was still being held at the Cedar County Jail.
Ash Grove man held in Cedar County on Dade County burglary and stealing warrants; long record shows multiple felony cases in Dade County
From the El Dorado Springs Newsroom
Brian O’Mara, 46, of Ash Grove, was booked into the Cedar County Jail on Nov. 18, 2025, on two outstanding warrants issued out of Dade County. According to jail records, the Dade County Sheriff’s Office transported O’Mara to Cedar County on warrants stemming from 2021 burglary and theft cases. Both warrants were issued as capias warrants with no bond set.
Court records show that O’Mara has an extensive criminal history in Dade County, with multiple felony, misdemeanor, and traffic cases filed over more than two decades. According to statewide court records, only Dade County files were reviewed.
O’Mara is the listed defendant in the following Dade County cases:
• 25DD-CR00040 (Felony) – Filed June 11, 2025, State v. Brian R. O’Mara.
• 21DD-CR00182 (Felony) – Filed Nov. 10, 2021; later recertified as 21DD-CR00182-01 in 2022.
• 09DD-CR00119 (Misdemeanor) – Filed July 9, 2009.
• 021499119 (State Traffic) – Filed June 1, 2004.
These cases include the 2021 burglary and stealing charges to which O’Mara pleaded guilty on Jan. 10, 2024. He received concurrent five-year Department of Corrections sentences with a 120-day callback, and he was later placed on five years of supervised probation beginning April 26, 2024, under Probation and Parole District 9.
Dade County judges and prosecutors have handled extensive proceedings in these matters over the years. Prosecuting Attorney Marcy Florence Greenwade has appeared repeatedly on behalf of the state. At the same time, Judge David R. Munton and Judge Gary A. Troxell have presided over hearings, case management conferences, probation-violation proceedings, and sentencing events.
Court filings show a long sequence of hearings through 2023, 2024, and 2025, including probation-violation citations, motions to revoke probation, discovery requests, subpoenas issued to multiple witnesses, and several capias warrants.
Most recently, Judge Troxell held a preliminary hearing on Nov. 25, 2025. Prosecuting Attorney Greenwade represented the state, and O’Mara was represented by his attorney, Kelli Greenwood Anderson. The matter was continued to a case management conference set for Dec. 9, 2025, at 10 a.m., in Dade County.
O’Mara currently remains held in the Cedar County Jail on the Dade County warrants.
This report is based solely on Cedar County jail records and Dade County court records. No additional counties were searched.
As of press time, the individual was still being held at the Cedar County Jail.
Smukowski booked on paraphernalia, controlled substance charges
From the El Dorado Springs Newsroom
Devin Smukowski, 32, of Greenfield, was taken into custody on Nov. 13 by the Missouri State Highway Patrol and booked into the Cedar County Jail later that evening.
Smukowski was arrested on a 24-hour probable cause hold on suspicion of unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia. He was also booked on a separate possession of a controlled substance charge, stemming from a previously issued warrant dating back to March 2023.
According to booking records, Smukowski was processed at 10:56 p.m. on Nov. 13. Bond had not been set as of the latest report, and the controlled substance charge was listed with a capias warrant.
As of press time, the individual was still being held at the Cedar County Jail.
South Booked on tampering charge; probation violation proceedings continue
Leslie South, 43, of Springfield, was taken into custody on Nov. 4 by the Dade County Sheriff’s Office on a warrant related to a prior tampering with a motor vehicle case. She was booked into the Cedar County Jail that afternoon.
Court records show the original case stems from a Jan. 12, 2024, incident. South later entered a guilty plea on Feb. 25, 2025, where the court suspended imposition of sentence and placed her on five years of supervised probation through the Missouri Department of Probation and Parole. Restitution and standard probation costs were ordered at that time.
Since being placed on probation, multiple violation reports were filed throughout 2025. A motion to revoke probation was submitted on Oct. 15, followed by the issuance of a capias warrant. That warrant was served on Nov. 4.
A contested probation violation hearing was first scheduled for Nov. 12 but was later continued. The hearing is now set for Dec. 10 at 2 p.m. before Judge Munton in Dade County.
South’s booking on Nov. 4 reflects that no bond had been set at the time of intake, and she was listed as being held on a court-ordered hold.
As of press time, the individual was still being held at the Cedar County Jail.
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