No charges filed months after woman’s camper stolen in Jackson County

INDEPENDENCE, Mo. — Days after Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker said she is prosecuting property crime , some crime victims wonder why their case is in limbo.

“I was mad, I was upset and actually my husband thought I was kidding when I looked out and said, ‘Where’s my camper?’ But it was gone,” Paula Martin said about her camper that was stolen.

Matin has the facts to back up her case and believes the county’s top prosecutor is misleading taxpayers.

This all comes while the property crime wave continues in Kansas City, Missouri , and many other parts of the county.

Matin says she is angry that she is now without a camper, but more so that the 36-year-old man police have referred over for charges told them he did it, but still isn’t charged.

“This is serious stuff – a camper – nobody got hurt and it was just property ,you know, but what’s the next thing on his list and will he even be prosecuted?” Martin asked.

This on the heels of prosecutor Peters Baker publishing a blog post titled: The Troubling Myth of ‘The Prosecutor Won’t Prosecute.’

“It’s not to defame anyone, it’s simply to show people how starkly, how inaccurate that false narrative is,” the Jackson County prosecuting attorney said.

Peters Baker also sat for an interview with FOX4 saying that it is false that her office is not prosecuting property crime.

Now hear from Martin about her beloved custom made turquoise and white camper.

“It was a replica camper of a Shasta, they call them a Canham. I had it built in Chattanooga, Tennessee,” she said.

Stolen in May of 2023, days after she posted about it, someone spotted it and notified her.
That’s when she and her husband went to the home and called police, who showed up and removed it, but it was already totaled.

The person who stole it, Independence police believe also committed felony theft in three other cases involving another camper, a firearm and theft of a business.

They turned this case over to the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office more than nine months ago, recommending felony theft charges.

FOX4 reached out to the prosecutor’s office to understand why it hadn’t filed charges in any of the cases. A spokesman said they had no record of the cases.

We contacted Independence police again, who provided us documented proof that all four cases were submitted January 18, 2024.

“Actually, hold them accountable, that’s where I’m frustrated, because we’re just not holding people accountable for the crimes they’re committing, and so they’ll just continue,” Martin said.

It is still not clear why there is this discrepancy, especially since police have it documented that they indeed have sent the cases over.

Martin just wants the case prosecuted. FOX4 will stay on top of this, and course continue to keep you updated.

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