Shobe guilty of fourth burglary

Earl Dean Shobe Jr., 40, who was arrested after a rash of local home burglaries that began more than a year ago, on Monday, July 21, was found guilty of a home burglary in Perry.
This was not his first conviction this year. He had previously been convicted of three second degree burglaries in Marion County. His sentencing is scheduled on Tuesday, Aug. 19, for these cases, along with the new conviction.
Shobe also has jury trials scheduled later this summer for two additional Ralls County burglary cases. They are scheduled on July 31 in New London and Aug. 22 in Hannibal, on a change of venue from Ralls County. Shobe remained in custody Monday.
When he learned that Shobe had been convicted of the Ralls County burglary Monday, Ralls County Sheriff Paul Forney said Shobe was believed to be involved in a rash of burglaries in Marion and Ralls counties.
“Back in the fall when this whole thing broke, and he got arrested, all that came to a screeching halt,” Forney said.
“We try to protect everybody’s property we can, and the best way we can do that is make the best case we can, and get these guys off the street.”
After the jury was dismissed by Judge Robert Clayton II at 4:15 p.m. Monday, Shobe’s attorney said he would file a motion for a new trial. Clayton informed him this must be done by Aug. 15, prior to Shobe’s sentencing on Aug. 19.
The Ralls County cases are being prosecuted by Robert Rapp, assistant prosecuting attorney of Ralls County, and Andy Briscoe of the prosecutor’s office.
The case on Monday was heard by a Marion County jury after Shobe was granted a change of venue from Ralls County.
Rapp explained this involved a second degree burglary in which a lawn mower and battery charger were stolen from an attached garage at a home in Perry.
He said the penalty for conviction of this Class C felony is from five to 15 years in prison, however, Shobe’s prior convictions will also be considered in his sentencing.
After the trial on Monday, Rapp said, he was “grateful to the jurors of Marion County for hearing a Ralls County case and entering a just decision.”
Noting that Shobe’s history of criminal convictions began in 1986, he added, “if they would put this much effort into a legitimate business, they could make a lot of money and benefit society.”
In a related case, Andrew D. Tobias previously pleaded guilty to a Class C felony of burglary in the second degree. On June 3 Judge Clayton granted him a suspended imposition of sentence and placed him on five years probation. He was ordered to pay $1,500 restitution to the victim, Chad Wallace, to be paid jointly with any co-defendant. He also was ordered to pay court costs and a judgment.