Friday, August 03, 2012

August 23 parole hearing set for liquor store killer

Most of this post comes from a column I first wrote back in 1998 when I was editor of The Carthage Press. John Steven Martin, the infamous Carthage Liquor Store Killer will have his next parole hearing Aug. 23.


An online petition can be found at this link.


When he was last up for parole in 2009, the following statement was left on the online petition:


Regina G
  • Comments
  • My father was one of the arresting officers on this case, we had just moved here in 1974 and he worked for the sheriff's department. We came from California so you can imagine the horrific things he had already witnessed. But this case haunted my father until his death. When he looked at Mr. Martin and asked why he shot him (Mr Stemmons) Mr. Martin's response was "I just wanted to see someone die" the statement was horrific but it was the non-chalant way he said it that burdened my father's memories. There is always something that happens in our lifetime that stays with us and we just cannot forget. This was one of the few incidents that my father carried throughout his lifetime. Please do not let this man out on parole, unless you wish to put your family members in harm's way.

My column from 1998 is printed below:



They just don't make cold-blooded killers like they used to.

After 21 years of acknowledging his role in the 1974 murder of Carthage Airport Liquor Store owner James Stemmons, John Steven Martin, in an obvious ploy to gain his freedom invented a new version of the truth during an Aug. 19, 1998, parole board hearing in Potosi.

At that time, Martin insisted he was performing a mercy killing when he shot Stemmons three times in the back of the head. It was Martin's partner in crime, Leslie Sanders, who shot Stemmons initially, Martin said. Then according to Martin's recreation of reality, Stemmons, with his dying breath, begged Martin to put him out of his misery.

Martin, the killer with a heart, could not say no.

"He changed his story," Mr. Stemmons' daughter-in-law, Donna Stemmons, told me shortly after the hearing. She and nine members of the Stemmons family who attended that hearing were stunned by the turnabout by Martin, who had never made any such claims, though he had gone through numerous parole hearings.

"It sounded like it was all rehearsed," Mrs. Stemmons said. Martin's presentation included the traditional litany that his evil acts were caused by "peer pressure" and his fondness for drugs and alcohol.

Since that story did not work, it remains to be seen what approach John Steven Martin will take during to gain his freedom.

I know the arguments for releasing people like Martin. Our prisons are overcrowded, and yes, some people do deserve a second chance.

Martin is not one of those people.

Because of his actions, at least two people died. Another was wounded and the families of the victims are suffering to this day, a suffering that will never end, but which will be increased if Martin once again sees sunlight.

James Stemmons was not the first man to die at John Steven Martin's hands. In October 1974, while knocking over a Rolla gas station, Martin shot a man to death and wounded another man. During his 1998 parole hearing, he did not mention that murder. Did that man also beg to be put out of his misery?

Less than two months after the murder in Rolla, Martin brought his brand of carnage to Carthage. He, Sanders, and David Pugh decided to get some beer, and opted against going to Gale's Liquor Store because Martin, 19 at the time, had been carded there.

They opted to go to the Airport Liquor Store. "They had me drop them off beside the building," Pugh later testified, "and they walked around it and went in the front door and I left and went down and sat parked at the car wash out east of there."

Martin and Sanders returned to Stemmons' pickup. They had Stemmons with them. Pugh said he followed them to a field southwest of Carthage along the banks of Jones Creek.

"I was stopped out on the road and sat there for a little bit and heard gunshots and then they came over and got in the car and we left. John was carrying a shotgun and a pistol and Leslie was carrying two bottles of some kind of whiskey," Pugh said. "John said they shot him and I couldn't believe it. I said, 'Man, how come you shot so many times?' "

James Stemmons' body was found near his pickup eight hours after a customer found the liquor store deserted. He had been shot in the head three times and struck in the back with a shotgun blast.

As the three men left the body behind, they divvied up the loot.

The life of a man with everything to live for, a family that loved him, people who cared about him, countless friends, was ended for the grand sum of $115.

Sanders was found guilty of first degree murder, but that verdict was thrown out because of a faulty instruction to the jury. He later pleaded guilty to second degree murder.

A Dade County jury found Pugh guilty of robbery and kidnapping. He was found not guilty on the murder charges. He was sentenced to 35 years in prison in 1977. Sanders and Pugh have been released from prison.

John Steven Martin was sentenced to life in prison in 1975 for murdering James Stemmons and life in prison for the murder of the Rolla man.

During his trial, Sanders said Martin threatened Sanders' wife and child if he did not go along with the robbery.

When Martin entered uis guilty plea in 1975, his story corresponded with what Sanders said. He told the judge he forced Sanders to take part in the robbery and murder. He said Pugh had nothing to do with either the robbery or the murder.

Now Martin has come up with a story designed to make him seem more sympathetic to the parole board. For the past decade, the ploy has not worked, but each new hearing is an opportunity for the killer to change his luck. Let's pray the parole panel does not buy the snake oil this killer is selling.

John Steven Martin does not deserve any more of a second chance than the one he gave James Stemmons.

14 comments:

Bob Aundese said...

Essentially, John Martin lost his life that night too. He was 19 then, and he's an aging, out of shape, gray-haired old man now. Indeed, it's very sad for everyone involved. He was a scumbag for certain. But...today, you're only hating an image... You're hating a dumb, dangerous, deadly 19 year old kid, but that kid's long gone. But..... we can still hate, right?? ..... For what? Vengeance? Pay-Back? If you're really that mad, push for his parole and meet him at the gate to set things straight. Not really. are you doing for "the victims"? If they could speak from heaven, they'd tell you to get on with your life and stop wasting it being filled with anger.
Was John Martin wrong?? Was he sick?? Did he ruin lives?? Is he a compulsive liar?? Certainly..... Is he a threat, or a danger?? The blind hatred you're holding onto will kill. The John Martin of today will not.
Sadly, you're just killing yourself...a little every day. That's your choice, but to be honest, it's not much smarter than the deadly ignorant choices that dumb 19 year old kid made nearly 40 years ago.
Go on with life and let the parole board do their job. It won't be long and he'll be going up for parole every year. Then, are you going to go every year to protest?? Stop wasting your life. You can't change the past..... best wishes.

Charles Miller said...

Mr. Aundese I am quite shure you opininion would be different if he was your Grand Father. Let us worry about us "wasting " our lives and hope we keep a killer behind bars. Charles L. Miller grandson of James Stemmons.

Kebby Stemmons Card said...

Dear Bob, that was my grandpa that was murdered. He didn't get a second chance at life....hell, he barley got a first chance. You have no idea the pain my family has went through. And to simply say " get over it, move on and quit wasting our lives." I can assure you our time has not been wasted by trying to keep this man behind bars. I think my family, is at the very least, owed that. If it takes every year to protest or even every month....then so be it. Wouldn't you if it was your son, your dad, your brother or your grandpa....

rgretchensmith said...

You are correct on some issues - John Martin is aging and is ALIVE, my father is DEAD! Our "image" is of my father face down in the dirt - shot in the back of the head multiple times. The close- up pictures of James Stemmons were shown in court for my mother and everyone else to see. Have you seen the photographs? My father's head had been shot so many times and at such close range Eddie Ulmer, the mortician, could not piece the skull together. That is OUR "image."

These feelings are not of hate, but of fear. I cannot hate someone I do not know. I do, however, HATE what he did to James Stemmons, Leroy Spencer, and Melvin Craft - not to mention their families, as well as society as a whole.

Those three men took MUCH more than $115 from this family. From this family they took a husband, a father, a grand-father, an uncle, a brother-in-law, and a cousin. From society, they took an upstanding citizen and prominent local businessman. In fact, one week before my father was murdered he loaned one of Martin’s accomplice’s family members $100, so they would be able to buy Thanksgiving dinner for their family. While Martin has been allowed to grow old, we did not get to enjoy my father growing old. John Martin did NOT “lose his life.” He made calculated choices and is paying the consequences. James Stemmons and Leroy Spencer were murdered and truly lost their life, not Martin - the one who pulled the trigger.

To call murder an “ignorant choice” is ignorant in and of itself. Ignorance is lacking knowledge, information or awareness about something. That which defines a civilized society is one where citizens know right from wrong. EVERYONE knows murder of another human being is not civilized and there are consequences to be had - this is the foundation of our criminal justice system. Martin robbed Melvin Craft and Leroy Spencer. He then took them out of the room he had held them hostage in, only to led them to a steep incline out the back of the store. Martin then instructed them to “run” down the incline and he proceeded to shoot them, a true act of human target practice and complete disregard for human life! Later, when Martin was questioned he told Detective Goodwin he murdered my father “just to see someone die.” One who kills for the thrill of killing should NEVER be allowed to make “deadly ignorant choices” again. Martin is not one who should be pitied, but one to be feared.

My father is very proud that his family is standing up for what they believe is right, just as he taught. This includes ensuring his murderer serves the sentence that was imposed upon him in a court of law and to keep society safer by continually fighting for justice.

Yes, he was 19 when this cold-blooded murder spree took place; however, the hedonistic nature of this man shows he is incapable of being a productive upstanding citizen. While I believe this man has no RIGHT to try, he is honestly NOT CAPABLE. How will he survive in today’s society? How will he work if he possesses no skill other than acquisition by criminal means? The only way he will be able to survive in today’s economy will be to return to the life he knows – one of crime and murder. While you may feel he has lost his life and has paid his dues to this family, has he paid his dues to society?

While I appreciate your desire to allow the Parole Board to do their job, they have done just that every time they have denied this murderer to walk the streets a free man. And yes, should they decide to allow him to present his case for freedom every year – I will be there to stand up for what is right. I will be there every year and I will not stand alone. We cannot change the past, but we can stand tall and work hard to keep society safe from this cold-blooded murder, and yes that includes you. I will not stand for hate, but for justice.

Debby Stemmons said...

For some reason my name did not show up on my comment above. I am proud to sign this, Debby Stemmons (daughter of James Stemmons)

Unknown said...

Kebby is my cousin by marriage for the last 13 years. So I am an outsider lookin in. Bob you do make goods points until I read the whole story. Listen robbing a store and accidentally shooting the guy once, yeah I would say justice had been served. I don't even have to say why this man doesn't even deserve the chance for parole. He was sick minded at 19 and 40 years later he still
is. Even if he was my family I would not want him on the street because that is a sick person. He thought it was fun and now he should live the rest of his life right where he is at. Sorry just had to say that because you're a fool if you would not agree with us! I hope Karma is kinder then I suspect she will be. Good day.

Anonymous said...

To Bob Aundese: You show incredible insensitivity and ignorance in your post. It’s obvious no one you have ever loved was taken from you by a cold-blooded murder and it’s obvious you have never had to fear a murderer coming after YOU nor anyone you love. I was a mere 13 years old when John S. Martin stole my father from me because “he wanted to watch someone die” (his own words reported by the arresting officer). John S. Martin was and continues to be a psychopath. A few years back he came to one of the parole hearings with a huge wooden cross hung around his neck saying that he was a “born again Christian”, a changed man. In the same hearing he stated that he really did my father a FAVOR BY KILLING HIM because he was wreaking in pain from the other bullets he and his accomplices’ s had pumped into his body. Does John S. Martin sound like a changed man, “born again Christian” to you??? A person as callous as you would never understand the pain of the many families and friends of James M. Stemmons or Leroy Spencer so I won’t even attempt to tell you the affect it has had on my life nor the rest of my family let alone leaving my mother a widow at such a young age to raise her family alone. What you DO NEED to understand though is that our family’s efforts are for YOUR benefit. John S. Martin WAS AND CONTINUES TO BE A PSYCHOPATH. He knows no other life. He was a psychopath when he entered prison to pay his debt to society and knows no other life. Our efforts will protect YOU from having him enter your home as a home repair man or under some other guise to see what you have in your home that he wants and will do ANTHING to get. All it took was $115 for him to have fun watching my father’s head be blown off. Stand with the citizens of Missouri and keep this cold-blooded murderer behind bars where he should serve the full sentences for which the citizens of Missouri believed he would serve when he was handed his sentence!!!!

Tara Hency aka Bounoust said...

I grew up with kebby, and knowing Kerwin Stemmons as a second father. Growing up I heard the story and saw the pain in Kerwins eyes from the loss of his father while now knowing the love of being a father. The choices that 19 year old made that day affected the lives of people I love til the day they died, and still affects the lives of children and grandchildren left behind. Shouldn't it still affect his as well? Eye for an eye???

Cindy Granddaughter of James Stemmons said...

If it is ignorant to want to keep a cold blooded killer in prison...I will plead ignorant today or any other. Clearly you have not felt the kind of pain this man has caused many people.

Heather chandler-housh said...

There is nothing ignorant about wanting a murderer to do his time that was given to him by the justice system. The part that really makes me Ill is that someone is trying to tell loved ones to get over it. To me, that's what is wrong with society in general. Just get over it... Not possible for the family members. Donna and kerwin stemmons were loved ones for me and knowing them causes me to support keeping this demon individual behind bars. What is he going to do in this world today? Like mentioned in a previous post, he will only be able to turn to crime as there aren't many opportunities in the world for murderers. I'm disgusted that anyone feels this family should just get over it.

Kelly Owen, niece of James Stemmons said...

Bob Aundese,

I am the niece of Jim Stemmons and if you think for one moment the James Stemmons family hasnt held their head high and continued through life you are sadly mistaken. Just because they stand behind their loved one in his honor shows the true integrity of this family. They have all gone on to be assets to the society in which we live. Even though they suffered the greatest loss of a parent and/or grandparent they continued on as a legacy to James Stemmons. Your thoughts are your and yours alone and obviously you have never had your father or grandfather murdered while making an honest days living to support his wife and young children. I find your remarks ignorant in their own right and very insensitive to a family that I am proud to call mine.

Kim Sheldon, Granddaughter of James Stemmons said...

Bob Aundese,

John Martin lost his freedom, not his life! I lost my beloved Grandfather, my Jimmy Jim!

You are correct, John Martin is an aging, out of shape, gray-haired man who appears to be meek and mild mannered. A man who choose to kill other human beings when he was a dumb and dangerous kid. Please do tell why and how you think he is not capable of such atrocities now?

Tell me Bob, when was the last time you sat and listened to what John Martin had to say? I have made it a personal mission to attend each and every parole hearing to do just that, listen to him. I have listened to him change his story, I have listened to him blame drugs and alcohol, I have listened to him blame peers and I have listened to him tell the Board that he did my Grandfather a favor by shooting him those last couple of times. Yes, that is right, John Martin told the Board that he did my Grandfather a favor by firing those last couple of shots. All so he could end my Grandfather’s misery!

I do not pursue vengeance or payback, I pursue justice! Do not put words in my mouth by claiming I hate John Martin! I do not know him personally, I only know him as the person who murdered my Grandfather in cold blood. I have never said I hated him! I hate his actions, I hate his words, and I hate how he does not accept full and complete responsibility for his actions. I hate his lack of true compassion; those are some of the things I hate about John Martin.

Because I do not hate, I find strength every single day to pursue what I believe is justice. To answer your question, yes I do plan on attending each and every Parole Hearing for the rest of John Martin’s life regardless of how often it might be.

I hope and PRAY it will be God’s will…to let John Martin serve out the remainder of his sentence behind bars.

Kim Sheldon, Granddaughter of James Stemmons

Anonymous said...

Ahhh it is so easy to sit back and abstractly look at a historic event and make inane comments. Facts are cold and hard just like Martin was and is. I am sure he did not grow a new heart or develop a deep morale consciousness while in prison. No instead he enjoyed 3 meals a day, a place to live, TV, computers all of his wonderful buddies where he could play the big man. If he were convicted today he could have gotten the death penalty he was a petty criminal before he killed my father and the others. The likehood of him killing again is more than 50% do you want to take those odd? We don't want you to!

Kim Sheldon said...

Bob Aundese,

John Martin lost his freedom, not his life! I lost my beloved Grandfather, my Jimmy Jim!

You are correct, John Martin is an aging, out of shape, gray-haired man who appears to be meek and mild mannered. A man who choose to kill other human beings when he was a dumb and dangerous kid. Please do tell why and how you think he is not capable of such atrocities now?

Tell me Bob, when was the last time you sat and listened to what John Martin had to say? I have made it a personal mission to attend each and every parole hearing to do just that, listen to him. I have listened to him change his story, I have listened to him blame drugs and alcohol, I have listened to him blame peers and I have listened to him tell the Board that he did my Grandfather a favor by shooting him those last couple of times. Yes, that is right, John Martin told the Board that he did my Grandfather a favor by firing those last couple of shots. All so he could end my Grandfather’s misery!

I do not pursue vengeance or payback, I pursue justice! Do not put words in my mouth by claiming I hate John Martin! I do not know him personally, I only know him as the person who murdered my Grandfather in cold blood. I have never said I hated him! I hate his actions, I hate his words, and I hate how he does not accept full and complete responsibility for his actions. I hate his lack of true compassion; those are some of the things I hate about John Martin.

Because I do not hate, I find strength every single day to pursue what I believe is justice. To answer your question, yes I do plan on attending each and every Parole Hearing for the rest of John Martin’s life regardless of how often it might be.

I hope and PRAY it will be God’s will…to let John Martin serve out the remainder of his sentence behind bars.

Kim Sheldon, Granddaughter of James Stemmons