Hebert gets seven years for burglary; stole thousands worth from MV’s MFA

Neosho thief will serve sentence concurrently with sentences for felonious crimes in Jasper, Newton counties

A Neosho man was sentenced to seven years in prison for burglary and stealing in the Christian County Justice Center on Tuesday, Feb. 11. James Carol Hebert, III, pleaded guilty to one count of second-degree burglary and one count of felony stealing. As part of a plea bargain, he received a seven-year sentence for each charge, to be served concurrently. He was also ordered to pay $1,920 in restitution.
The case stemmed from a burglary of MFA Agri Services in Mt. Vernon. According to the probable cause statement in the case, Hebert entered the property on April 27, 2023, and took thousands of dollars worth of equipment from the shop. He then used a cinder block to open the door to the office next to the shop, took keys for the company’s trucks and additional tools, and unplugged the camera system.
MFA Agri Services recovered the security footage and provided police with video footage of Hebert and his truck. He was eventually captured following a pursuit by Neosho police officers, who recovered the truck he used in the robberies. Police also checked a storage shed used by Hebert, in which they found stolen property from thefts in Joplin, Duquesne, Carthage, Neosho, and Mt. Vernon, including property stolen from MFA Agri Services.
According to online court documents, Hebert will serve his sentence concurrently with a four-year sentence imposed on him in Newton County for DWI and resisting arrest. His sentence will also run concurrently with a sentence imposed on him in a case in Jasper County. Information on that case was not immediately available. Hebert was also recently sentenced to eight 10-year prison terms in Jasper County for six counts of receiving stolen property, vehicle tampering, and removing a manufacturer’s number from a vehicle. He will serve those sentences concurrently with each other; it was not immediately clear if he would serve those sentences concurrently or consecutively with his sentences in Lawrence County.
As of press time, Hebert remained in custody in the Lawrence County Jail, pending his transfer to the Missouri Department of Corrections.