Neosho man sentenced to six years for tampering with a victim

A man from Neosho has been sentenced to six years in prison for tampering with a victim in a felony prosecution. Read the full press release from the Newton County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office below:

John Martin Hamilton, Jr., 46, was found guilty by a McDonald County jury on February 16, 2022, after just thirty-five minutes of deliberation.

The case stems from a June 18, 2021, phone call that Hamilton made while in custody at the Newton County Jail on a felony domestic assault charge.

In that recorded call, Hamilton offered the victim of his assault $500 in exchange for dropping charges. 

“Mr. Hamilton will spend every single day of his six-year sentence in the Missouri Department of Corrections. The law violated by the defendant is one of very few where there is no parole and the sentence rendered by Judge Stremel will be the true sentence the defendant serves,” said Newton County Prosecuting Attorney William Lynch. “Our Assistant Prosecutor, Sarah Crites, did a great  job securing this conviction and we are all pleased to see justice served.”