Stice, Ater arraigned on murder charge

David A. Ater, 22, and Nathan A. Stice, 21, both new residents of Hannibal, were arraigned Friday morning, Aug. 15, for the Aug. 10 murder of Rodney Wood, who died after stopping on Broadway to help a woman who was being attacked by two men.
Stice and Ater remained in Marion County Jail during their first court session, with a video connection to the courtroom at the Marion County Courthouse in Hannibal.
Ater and Stice appeared on the TV screen separately. Judge David Mobley read each defendant his charges: second degree murder, involuntary manslaughter and kidnapping, and they responded that they understood them.
Judge Mobley then advised each of them to not talk about their case to anyone except their attorney.
After the first defendant had heard his charges, Todd Schulze, their public defender, said he had a conflict in serving as their defense attorney and requested another attorney be appointed to represent them.
Mobley said an attorney will be appointed to represent them.
He set their next court date at 8:15 a.m. Friday, Aug. 29. At that time a preliminary hearing could be scheduled.
Doug Browne, assistant prosecuting attorney of Marion County, said he did not object to the appointment of a new public defender.
Browne was representing Prosecuting Attorney Tom Redington, who will return from vacation on Saturday, Aug. 16, and continue prosecution of the cases.
The charges against Stice and Ater are identical. They were signed by Judge John Jackson on Monday, Aug. 11, the day after Wood’s death.
• Count 1 accuses them of a Class A felony of murder in the second degree, punishable upon conviction with not less than 10 years or more than 30 years, or life, in prison. The warrant states that on or about Aug. 9 or 10 the defendant, “alone or aiding, encouraging or acting together with another person with the common purpose of committing the offense, and with the purpose of causing serious physical injury to Rodney Wood, caused the death of Rodney Wood by striking him.”
• Count 2 states, “in the alternative to Count 1 (the defendant), committed the Class C felony of involuntary manslaughter in the first degree,” punishable upon conviction with a prison term of not more than seven years or a county jail term of not more than one year, or a fine not exceeding $5,000, or a combination of fine and imprisonment within that range. The warrant states that the defendant “alone or acting with another person, recklessly caused the death of Rodney Wood by striking him or encouraging the striking of Rodney Wood.”
• Count 3 states the defendant committed a Class B felony of kidnapping, punishable upon conviction with a prison term of not less than five years or more than 15 years. It states the defendant “alone, or aiding, encouraging or acting together with another person with the common purpose of committing the offense, knowingly and unlawfully confined another or others without their consent for a substantial period, by forcible compulsion and without their consent, for the purpose of facilitating flight after commission of felony involuntary manslaughter or murder in the second degree.”
Both Stice and Ater had recently moved to Hannibal, according to Dan Conboy, district supervisor with the Department of Probation and Parole.
Stice, a former resident of La Grange, had been convicted of a Lewis County drug charge and placed on five years probation. He had recently served 120 days in the drug treatment program in Fulton. He was released from custody on July 11, almost exactly one month prior to the murder.
Ater also had lived elsewhere in Northeast Missouri prior to moving to Hannibal. As a juvenile, he had lived in Kahoka. Recently Ater had served 120 days in prison, after being convicted of a Randolph County burglary and being on five years’ probation. He was released on June 27. His prison term was served after he was arrested for violating the terms of his probation.
Ater and Stice were arrested on the day of Wood’s death and have remained in custody since then, with bond set at $500,000, cash only.