Former KC-area officials strike deal with prosecutors, ending criminal probe
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Hill couple entered diversion agreement; state felony charges dismissed.
- Three other former officials pleaded guilty to misdemeanors and were fined $1,300 each.
- Missouri auditor probed village ties to Mitchell; report expected in weeks.
Two former Kansas City area elected officials earlier this year struck a deal with prosecutors after they were arrested for felony election offenses, an undisclosed agreement that marks the culmination of a sweeping criminal investigation into a sparsely populated Jackson County village.
Alexandra Hill, the former elected chair of River Bend, a small village in a northern sliver of the county, and her husband, David Hill, another board member, entered into a diversion agreement with the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office in February.
The deal came after every member of the village’s five-person elected board was arrested on election-related offenses. The charges followed a 2023 investigation by The Star that revealed a series of connections between the village’s governing board and Jack Mitchell, an influential marijuana businessman who proposed a weed-based entertainment district in the village.
The agreement dismissed state felony charges against the couple, which alleged that they signed false documentation relating to their residencies within the village. The Star learned of the agreement after the cases against the couple disappeared from online court records.
Jazzlyn Johnson, a spokesperson for Jackson County Prosecutor Melesa Johnson, confirmed the existence of the agreement on Wednesday, but would not share specifics about it. The Star has submitted a records request for the agreement.
“Their cases were dismissed pursuant to a diversion agreement entered into between the defendants and our office,” Johnson said. “The details of that agreement are not publicly available because the cases have been dismissed.”
Attempts to reach the couple by phone were unsuccessful on Wednesday. Mitchell, reached by phone, refused to discuss the controversies that have long plagued the village.
“I don’t have any comment on anything in River Bend and I never will, so probably better not to waste your time talking to me,” Mitchell said in a phone call before hanging up.
The three other former elected officials, Jessica Caswell, James Hoppe and Tracy Dockler, last year pleaded guilty to misdemeanor election offenses and were fined $1,300 each.
The Star’s investigation revealed that Mitchell, who was proposing the massive entertainment district, was connected to every member of the board either professionally or through family. Village stakeholders alleged Mitchell had effectively taken control of the municipality through his ties to the board.
Mitchell withdrew his development plans days after The Star inquired about his connections to the village board. The village’s head of zoning resigned a day after the newspaper published the story about those connections.
In addition to the criminal charges, state investigators also launched a probe into the board and its connections to Mitchell. The Missouri Auditor’s Office began investigating the village in 2024 after receiving a whistleblower complaint alleging nepotism and conflicts of interest.
Trevor Fox, a spokesperson for the auditor’s office, said the investigation was pending and that the agency expects to release its findings in the “next few weeks.” Fox said the agency was waiting to hear back from the village before it releases the investigative report.
The criminal charges and investigations have upended the tiny municipality over the last few years. Only three people currently sit on the five-person board. The exact number of residents has been disputed, with estimates ranging from three people to 11.
“I don’t know what the future is with (so few) residents,” said Brandon Decker, who owns a trucking business in River Bend. “They’re still holding meetings and moving in the direction that’s best for every property owner, land owner, business owner, down here.”
As River Bend prepares for a new election next week, no formal candidates have filed for seats on the board, said Tammy Brown, the Republican director for the Jackson County Election Board.
But Wilma Larkin, the village clerk, told The Star on Wednesday that she expects there to be two write-in candidates, George Pursley, a current board member, and his wife, Jenna Pursley.
River Bend is classified as a village — instead of a city or other municipality — under Missouri law due to its small population size.
Inside the controversy
The tiny village had for years fostered a loose, business-friendly culture that attracted industrial warehouses and businesses. But, while serving as a business hotspot, the number of people actually living there has long been a source of controversy.
The little-known municipality’s problems began soon after a proposed development from Mitchell, a businessman, attorney and former board member of MoCannTrade, the state’s powerful marijuana industry group.
Mitchell, in late 2022, announced plans for a district called Smokey River Entertainment District. The plans called for an amphitheater and food and drink spots, but recently the area was used as festival grounds and hosted celebrities like Ric Flair, Wiz Khalifa and Mike Tyson.
Local business owners raised concerns about the people who started taking spots on the village board — all of them were either members of Mitchell’s family or connected to his business ventures. They worried about conflicts between the board’s decisions and Mitchell’s business and whether the officials had lived there long enough to be on the board.
