CASS COUNTY, Mo. — A Franklin, Mo. man arrived home Thursday morning to see an out of place white minivan and an open door on the side of his home. As he called the sheriff’s office, he saw four people leave out of the front door and initiated a chase that deputies would eventually end after pursuing burglary suspects through three counties and two states before they were apprehended.
On Friday the Cass County Prosecutor’s Office announced formal charges against the group of four. Robert Cummings, Christopher Zumwalt, Jamie Brewer and Stephanie Settle have all been charged felony stealing and first-degree accessory to burglary. Cummings was the suspected getaway driver and has also been charged with resisting arrest.
According to court documents they are suspected of stealing several pieces of gold and diamond jewelry that are valued at approximately $10,000. Many of the pieces are family heirlooms according to the wife of the man who called the sheriff’s office, who also said that a brown pillow case was missing from a bedroom.
The man told an investigator back at his home that it appeared the suspects also tried take a .22 caliber rifle and several pairs of women’s shoes, but those items were left behind in a large trash bag when they fled the home.
The suspects had fled in a white Dodge Caravan and when they were stopped on I-435, Cummings reportedly jumped out of the vehicle while it was still moving, the van would eventually graze a patrol vehicle. He was injured after trying to hop a concrete barrier on the interstate and all four were taken into custody; the van was towed for evidence.
When a detective went to photograph the van, court documents state he saw a brown pillow case matching the description of the one missing from the bedroom. Detectives are awaiting the approval of a search warrant to search inside the van.
Bonds have been set for Zumwalt, Brewer and Settle at $35,000, Cummings has been set at $50,000. Online court records don’t indicate when any of the four are due to appear in court, but all remain in custody.
