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Business News
Independence, MO —
David Love, a former Baptist church pastor accused in the March 2010 killing of Independence insurance agent Randy Stone, pleaded guilty Wednesday morning before Jackson County Judge Michael Schieber.
Love pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the death of Randy Stone, 42, who was found shot to death in his office on Noland Court on March 31, 2010. Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker announced the plea deal.
Love had been charged with first-degree murder and armed criminal action in Stone’s death.
Under the terms of the plea agreement, Love will serve life in prison. Love appeared before the court at 8 a.m. Wednesday, where acknowledged his role and that he shot Stone. He made no further statement.
Stone’s family members – his two children and close family – attended but also made no statement before the court or outside the complex.
The agreement partially ends a long and bizarre case, which also involved Stone’s widow, Teresa, who was charged by a Jackson County grand jury in May with one count of conspiracy to commit murder. The conspiracy charge is a Class B felony, which carries a maximum punishment of between 5 and 15 years in prison.
Love, a former pastor of New Hope Baptist Church in Independence where Stone and her husband attended church, left for South Carolina soon after he resigned his position at the church. That happened shortly after Stone’s funeral, where Love gave the eulogy. He was arrested in November 2010 in South Carolina while working as a truck driver. Love was later returned to Jackson County where he remained in jail with no bond, preparing for a Dec. 5 trial in the 16th Judicial District Court.
Stone’s family revealed that Love and Teresa Stone were having an affair that had been going on for about a decade, according to family.
“This was a good man – a Marine, a business owner in Independence,” Baker said of Stone. “He was a good man with a very good reputation.”
Kevin Harrell, a deputy prosecutor, said avoiding a trial would help bring closure to the family.
“We don’t have to have a trial and bring up all the old memories and go through that,” Harrell said.
Prosecutors said Teresa Stone conspired in the death of her husband.
According to the county prosecutor’s office in May, Teresa “agreed with David Love that one or more of them would murder Randy Stone, and ... one or more of them communicated that they wanted Randy Stone murdered.”
Teresa Stone is scheduled for trial in April. Baker said during her announcement that her office was now focused on “seeing justice served” regarding the charges against Teresa Stone.
Church officials at New Hope could not be reached for comment Wednesday. A story in The Examiner, published in April, showed that leaders were moving forward with the hiring of Pastor Darren M. Tharp.
The church’s new motto is “A New Start for New Hope.”
David Love, a former Baptist church pastor accused in the March 2010 killing of Independence insurance agent Randy Stone, pleaded guilty Wednesday morning before Jackson County Judge Michael Schieber.
Love pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the death of Randy Stone, 42, who was found shot to death in his office on Noland Court on March 31, 2010. Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker announced the plea deal.
Love had been charged with first-degree murder and armed criminal action in Stone’s death.
Under the terms of the plea agreement, Love will serve life in prison. Love appeared before the court at 8 a.m. Wednesday, where acknowledged his role and that he shot Stone. He made no further statement.
Stone’s family members – his two children and close family – attended but also made no statement before the court or outside the complex.
The agreement partially ends a long and bizarre case, which also involved Stone’s widow, Teresa, who was charged by a Jackson County grand jury in May with one count of conspiracy to commit murder. The conspiracy charge is a Class B felony, which carries a maximum punishment of between 5 and 15 years in prison.
Love, a former pastor of New Hope Baptist Church in Independence where Stone and her husband attended church, left for South Carolina soon after he resigned his position at the church. That happened shortly after Stone’s funeral, where Love gave the eulogy. He was arrested in November 2010 in South Carolina while working as a truck driver. Love was later returned to Jackson County where he remained in jail with no bond, preparing for a Dec. 5 trial in the 16th Judicial District Court.
Stone’s family revealed that Love and Teresa Stone were having an affair that had been going on for about a decade, according to family.
“This was a good man – a Marine, a business owner in Independence,” Baker said of Stone. “He was a good man with a very good reputation.”
Kevin Harrell, a deputy prosecutor, said avoiding a trial would help bring closure to the family.
“We don’t have to have a trial and bring up all the old memories and go through that,” Harrell said.
Prosecutors said Teresa Stone conspired in the death of her husband.
According to the county prosecutor’s office in May, Teresa “agreed with David Love that one or more of them would murder Randy Stone, and ... one or more of them communicated that they wanted Randy Stone murdered.”
Teresa Stone is scheduled for trial in April. Baker said during her announcement that her office was now focused on “seeing justice served” regarding the charges against Teresa Stone.
Church officials at New Hope could not be reached for comment Wednesday. A story in The Examiner, published in April, showed that leaders were moving forward with the hiring of Pastor Darren M. Tharp.
The church’s new motto is “A New Start for New Hope.”
