In June of this year the Bates County Sheriff's Department received information that Rich Hill resident Joann R. Stepp was in need of a hit man to kill her husband, Jody Stepp- and thus was the beginning of an undercover operation that involved some convincing role playing for the sheriff's department agents.
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| Joann Stepp |
An initial meeting with Joann Stepp was set up in early July, where undercover agents learned of specific details about Jody Stepp- including how to see a photo of him on Facebook, his address, and other crucial information. During the meeting she made it clear that she wanted him killed as soon as possible, although she wouldn't be able to pay the 'hit man' $4,000 for the task until she received her income tax return next year.
With that said, another meeting was scheduled on July 14th to finalize the deal.
During that meeting Detective Talley, Lt. Perryman, Under-Sheriff Moreland and Sheriff Anderson dressed in disguise, met with Joann Stepp in Rich Hill- this, she thought, was the motorcycle gang hired to kill her husband. She provided a knife (belonging to her husband) to the group to be used in the homicide and requested that certain body parts be returned to her once the killing was done.
Stepp was arrested by uniformed Deputies shortly after leaving the meeting and charged with conspiracy to commit murder. Bond was set at $300,000.
Yesterday Joann Stepp was sentenced in the Bates County Circuit Court on a Class B Felony, Conspiracy to Commit Murder and was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Additionally, she was sentenced to 5 years DOC on a Class C Felony of Endangering the Welfare of a Child in the same case.
