Woman charged with DWI, supplying alcohol to minors in ballpark vandalism

Anna Deatherage, 19, of Springfield, was arrested May 12 in connection with a Jan. 30 incident in which Deatherage and four teenage boys are accused of driving her truck through the Gainesville ballfield fence and cutting donuts on the field, damaging the dirt and grass. She was released from custody the same day with the condition that she is supervised through Court Probationary Services. She applied for the services of the public defender but was denied due to her income, online court documents say.  

She’s charged with leaving the scene of an accident with property damage exceeding $1,000, property damage, driving while intoxicated, four counts of endangering the welfare of a child, purchasing liquor to a minor, supplying liquor to a minor.

According to the probable cause statement prepared by Ozark County Sgt. Seth Miller, at 3:41 p.m. Jan. 30, the Ozark County 911 dispatch office was notified of property damage at the ballparks in Gainesville, located off County Road 103.

“Once on scene, I spoke with school officials who stated the property damage occurred within 24 hours [of the call]. I observed the south fence corner (left field fence) down with two posts pulled out of the ground. Tire tracks indicated the vehicle to be a large truck, and tire tracks were present in the outfield and the infield. Ruts and tire marks through the snow and ice indicated the vehicle performing skids and wheel spins. I documented the damage, photographed the tire marks in the field, collected beer cans left at the scene. I was later contacted with a possible suspect name of Anna Deatherage,” Miller wrote in his report. 

On Feb. 1, Miller located Deatherage at a home in Bakersfield. Her vehicle was parked in the driveway with front-end damage, Miller noted. 

Miller and Sgt. Josh Sherman spoke with Deatherage and asked how her vehicle was damaged. The woman reportedly said she hit a fence. Miller asked if the fence she hit happened to be the one at the ballfield, and she told the officer that her truck had caused the caused the damage. He asked Deatherage to meet him at the sheriff’s department to fill out a statement about what happened. She agreed, the report says. After reading her Miranda rights, Miller asked if she would speak with him, and she agreed, the statement says. 

“I asked Anna who she was with during the property damage. Anna stated she was with two underage males during the property damage. Anna admitted to driving the truck during the property damage, stating she had rammed the gate several times before it was knocked down,” Miller says in his report. “I asked Anna if she was intoxicated at the time this occurred. Anna stated she was drunk and unsure how much she drank. I asked Anna if she could remember the name of the underage male. Anna stated she did not know the name of the male. Anna was fingerprinted and released.”

Miller wrote that he later viewed a video of the incident, which showed Deatherage in front of her truck, examining the damage. He also saw another video which was filmed from inside the cab of the truck when the truck rammed through the fence. 

“During the video of the fence being hit, several beer cans can be seen in the center console matching ones collected on the field,” Miller wrote. “Along with Anna, several juvenile males could be identified from the video.”

The juveniles were later identified as a 15-year-old, 16-year-old and two 17-year-old boys, all of whom are students at Gainesville High School. In Missouri, those age 18 and older are charged as an adult, while those age 17 and younger are considered juveniles. 

An interview with the juveniles was conducted, and all of the teen boys reportedly told officers that Deatherage provided them with alcohol, and she was driving the vehicle while intoxicated. 

Miller spoke with Gainesville Superintendent Justin Gilmore, who estimated the damage to be about $5,900 to repair the fence and $1,125 to repair the fields. The estimate was provided to the school by Wiley Fence Company, the report says.

If convicted of the crimes, Deatherage can face up to 4 years in the Missouri Department of Corrections and up to a $10,000 fine. 

Ozark County Times

504 Third Steet
PO Box 188
Gainesville, MO 65655

Phone: (417) 679-4641
Fax: (417) 679-3423