The Missouri House Special Interim Committee on Illegal Immigrant Crimes will hold a public hearing later this morning in Kansas City. House Speaker Dean Plocher (R-Des Peres) appointed the committee this summer. State Rep. Jim Schulte (R-New Bloomfield) tells 939 the Eagle’s “Wake Up Mid-Missouri” that the committee is not on a witch hunt:
“Our goal is to look at the impact on the crime rate. And if there is in fact an impact by illegals on the crime in Missouri. And that’s what we’re trying to get to the bottom (of). It’s not a witch hunt,” Rep. Schulte says.
939 the Eagle’s Mike Murphy reported in late June that five men believed to be illegal immigrants were captured in northern Missouri’s Macon County with a 14-year-old runaway from Indiana. Police say they were allegedly trafficking her to the state of California.
Meantime, a Jefferson City man charged in a mid-July deadly hit-and-run collision that killed a bicyclist on the shoulder of Highway 50 will be back in Cole County Circuit Court next week. County prosecutor Locke Thompson has charged 23-year-old Diego Popp with two felonies: involuntary manslaughter and leaving he scene of an accident. Popp remains jailed without bond, and the Jefferson City Police Department’s probable cause statement says Popp “does not currently have legal status to be in the United States.” Rep. Schulte discussed the case recently on 939 the Eagle’s “Wake Up Mid-Missouri”:
“This guy was obviously here illegally and he has a drinking problem and total disregard for our laws,” says Schulte.
JCPD’s probable cause statement quotes Popp as admitting he was intoxicated at the time of the crash. Court documents also say Popp does not have a valid driver’s license. The crash killed 50-year-old John Brummit, according to Jefferson City Police.
The House committee meets this morning at 11 at the Kansas City Public Library. Speaker Plocher wants the committee to finish its work by the end of the calendar year.
