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(Eric Crump/Democrat-News)
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DeFrates said he travels a wide area by car seeking cities where he can make money from handouts.
"I've been to so many cities I can't name them all," he said.
DeFrates is ready to tell anyone who will listen about the twists and turns and potholes he's hit on life's road.
Things started to go bad for him about eight to 10 years ago, he said, when he returned from Mexico to collect two pension checks and was robbed on his way to the bank.
He said a police officer suggested one way to get his money back was to make a sign, show people the police report and ask for money.
It worked.
And he has been panhandling his way through one emergency after another ever since.
But the job has its challenges, including numerous run-ins with the law and in big cities like Kansas City, getting mistaken for a begging drug addict.
DeFrates said he had been arrested 25 times for "aggressive panhandling."
He admits he became loud and argumentative with police on one occasion and claims he was beaten as a result. He also related an incident in which police allegedly impounded his car and took his wheelchair, forcing him to walk 26 blocks and aggravating a sporadic nerve problem in his back in the process.
Missouri's unofficial online court records show DeFrates has several cases, including one still pending in Harrison County. Recent cases include two counts of class C felony tampering with service of a utility (pleaded guilty in January 2005, sentenced to three years in the Missouri Department of Corrections), class C misdemeanor no insurance on motor vehicle (pleaded guilty in September 2002, served two days in jail), class B misdemeanor disturbing the peace (pleaded guilty in June 2008, sentenced to 60 days in jail with credit for time served) and a pending charge of class B misdemeanor disturbing the peace in Harrison County.
In addition, he has filed two lawsuits against police departments, one in Dexter (2001) and the other in Willow Springs (2001). Both suits were dismissed when DeFrates failed to show up in court.
His mission today is to get Marshall area residents to help him in his quest to raise the $200,000 he believes he would have been awarded by a jury if he had successfully sued police for impounding his car and wheelchair.
Kathy Fairchild contributed information to this story.
Contact Eric Crump at marshalleditor@socket.net
Comments
WonderJim,
I have no idea why you think the avg. median pay for law enforcement is $39,000. It might be in Kansas City, New York or in space, but try more like a starting salary for a small town or county deputy in Missouri at about $20,000-$25,000 a year. How could you ever believe that an E-1 made so much money. Wake up your having a dream...
Well said Smokin! Couldn't agree more.
Also, you're starting to make me wonder jim:
How do you consider this a "biased" story? The article reported this man's own statements, and also provided online court records. His story and the legal system's story--"both" sides, so to speak.
Charles Manson was just a drifting soul seeking to preach the truth and live in harmony with others...until the other side of the story came out. Imagine how the course of history would have been changed had "they" known.
An addendum to my earlier post: Then there are, to me, the glaring obvious points. Look at the picture. The sign the man is holding says he's recently gone through a separation. Gee, I wonder why.
Then there's the fact that he's a Branson resident. Branson is an area that attracts hundreds of thousands of tourists nearly year round from every walk of life. Surely there must be a sucker or two among them. But he chose Marshall--population 13,000--to raise awareness for his cause. Apparently his "travels" taught him nothing of demographics.
Then there's his statement that he's been arrested at least 25 times for "aggressive panhandling". Twenty-five times. Apparently the lesson didn't stick. How exactly do you "aggressively" beg for money? I think they call that an oxymoron?? I dunno...I skipped most of my English classes.
I'm finished. I'm certain the bulk of this is pointless anyway.
WonderJim,
Here's how I can draw *any* conclusion:
The man is hoping Marshall residents will "donate" money to him to help him reach his goal of the $200,000 he *thinks* he would have been awarded by a jury from a court hearing he DIDN'T EVEN SHOW UP TO.
Kathy - an apology would be nice but I always think back to the 70's - how the servicemen were treated when they came back from Nam (including 2 brothers of mine) and feel there are some people who just don't get it. Unless a person has lived or been associated with military life, they don't have a clue how it feels and what it can do to a family. It is a choice and has been a good choice for us - wouldn't trade it for anything but I haven't moved from base to base with my spouse either. I had a career so stayed in one spot and spent vacations seeing parts of the world that wouldn't have been possible without his career choice. Lots of jobs are dangerous (sea fishing, logging, construction come to mind) but in those jobs, you know what can harm you. In the military, you don't know what or who is sneaking around behind you. It can be a tough life. I get very defensive when anyone "bashes" this choice we made.
WonderJim: It would also be nice if you said you're sorry.
BTW, I'll put down the pitchfork and torch until someone makes a berating remark about the military. Have to stand my ground on it. Those guys (girls included) risk their lives whether they agree with the cause or not.
Wonder - I realize there are many people who make those same assumptions but if people would stop and think - if it's such a great life, why don't more want to join? It has gotten more disciplined over the past few years too. 3 years ago, 4 young enlistees were coming in from a party, went through the gate, guard noticed they had been drinking, 2 were under age so they were "discharged" within a week and the person who had the party at his off base house was given an article 15 - pay cut, fine, and rank downgrade. It isn't a picnic for low pay.
AF Wife: Yup, I see things haven't changed much in the years I've been "away." Still, I wouldn't trade that life for anything and still, I miss it.
To add to Kathy's comments on housing - have you checked the rent prices in Knob Noster? You will find it much higher than towns further away from the base because of supply and demand. I know several Whiteman personnel who drive from Lee's Summit, Blue Springs, Grain Valley because of the rent options / price and the area around the houses. That's why Whiteman is building more on base housing. And the rent for those is comparable to the off base prices.
WonderJim - you are definitely making me wonder...... Where do you get your information regarding military life? Free housing???? I've missed that for the past 20+ years! Nothing is free.
Example: 2002, a young man joined the army. After 2 years, he was taking home $600/month. He was single so lived in the on base dormitory housing which was basically an 8x10 room with a dresser and closet - shared bathroom down the hall. He had to pay for this room (rent was deducted from his payroll). Also, as for meals, military personal (living on and off base) PURCHASE a meal ticket. It is scanned each time they go through the chow hall and when the funds run out - they don't get fed. This meal ticket expense is deducted from their payroll. TAX CUTS???? I need to change accountants! There is an amount for overseas pay which is deducted from the gross income but, it is also prorated depending on how many days you are actually in a foreign country. This is not just military but any overseas workers or American citizens who live in another country but still file taxes in the US. Check out the IRS web site for further info on that one. One thing you didn't mention so I will tell you - military personal HAVE to purchase all uniforms and all insignia they have to wear on their uniforms. The work uniforms tax laws apply to those too - it's not a 100% writeoff. AND if your uniform starts to wear out or look faded, a higher ranking officer will tell you to purchase new ones - out of your own pocket.
Again I recommend military.com so you can clarify any other misconceptions you have about military life and all the things you seem to think are handed out free gratis.
WonderJim: And where did get the "free" meals idea? There was nothing free on our table, not even when we spent more than two years in Libya, NOT living in base housing.
WonderJim: A lot of people assume that military get free housing. I suppose things might have changed in the many years since I was a military dependent, but the housing was NOT free. Military did receive a housing allowance if they lived off base, and in one of those "interesting" things that sometimes happens in economics, every time the housing allowance was raised, so, too, were local rents, as regularly as clockwork. And rents were never quite in line with the housing allowance, of course, so the allowance usually wasn't sufficient, though welcome, of course. When military families lived ON base, the housing allowance was not paid.
AF Wife probably knows whether this is still true or not, but I'd bet that it's this, or something close.
WonderJim: Law enforcement officers in Saline County are not making $29,000 to start, as you can see in the story below and several others we've published in the last couple of years:
http://www.marshallnews.com/story/154570...
Wonder - in the county where I live, sheriff deputies make around $20,000/year. In 2008 the Fed. Poverty Level for a family of 4 was $22,000. If you go to military.com the pay charts are there. An enlisted E-1 makes around $16,000/year. A 20 retired E-9 gets $19,000/year retirement. If you have different figures, I'd like to know your source.
I guess I should have also pointed out that to state the obvious wouldn't exactly have been objective journalism...
I'm going to go the way of the devil's advocate here. Eric, please correct me or delete this post altogether if I'm wrong:
I have to believe, oldschool, that IF this article was intended to be a fluff piece on the woes of this individual, such details as his criminal history, court appearances, and (pretty much) the man's own admission that he seeks to find his wealth off the hip pockets of others would not have been included in this story. Just don't think it would happen.
Rather, I've concluded this story is--in a very creative manner--a warning of sorts; a warning that every person has a hard luck story that is sometimes deserving of the kindness and benevolence of others....but NOT always. In this particular economy, this story serves as an alert to those who may find themselves duped by pity.
If I've gotten too winded, then let me dumb it down: He's got a hard luck story. He's not the only one. His story is BS. Give your money to a more worthy cause.
Gumby - the majority of law enforcement and military families are at poverty level and you are so right about them being proud. It has a lot to do with self esteem which obviously this guy has none. There is help available to those who are willing to help themselves but there is probably more money in panhandling.
DUMBEST ARTICLE IN THE HISTORY OF NEWSPAPER JOURNALISM!!! Seriously Eric, how do you still have a job? You wrote an entire article on a worthless bum who tried to screw the system and it didn't work. Did you do any background on this guy besides looking his name up on case.net? Did you see the police reprot he filed on the checks? Did you talk to his family to varify? Did you check his arms or medical history to varify he's not on drugs? You know all the normal invesitgated reporting that needs to be involved with a story like this. Hey you feel sorry for the guy, that's fine, give him some money, but don't write an article about it in the newspaper along side articles about high school sports and corn husking festivals. You want to write about people in hard times, how bout the woman's shelter? Or the unemployment office? Or something like that where people are at least trying to better their lives! Now people read the Marshall Democrat and think Marshall is a that type of town, thanks a lot Eric!
Alot of our law enforcement and emergency service workers in Saline County would qualify for food stamps for their families, but most wouldn't take them because they are to proud!
Elitism?????? Look the word up - I think you're confused of what it means. I just don't feel you should make such a statement without first hand knowledge but, whatever. You did sterotype people who you consider in "on-call" positions. And FYI - just because someone works for local/state/or federal government does not mean they are any better off than anyone else.
Wonder....if your home ever catches fire, you will be glad those guys are sitting around waiting for the call. As for bashing the military "on call" as you put it - don't go there. If you have never SERVED in the military, you have no right to say anything. So is your job more important than either a firefighter or serviceman?
just glad you exposed this guy for what he is. blame everyone else for his problems, the world is against him, it's never his fault ... just curious - WHY is he in a wheel chair? especially if he can drive his car to many other places? been to sooooooooooo many towns he can't even count? how bout ... get a JOB?
thank you demo news for seeing this guy (although he dropped into your lap right next door to you) and for covering this fraud.
Anyone who needs food or money can go to any church. The ministerial alliance knows who to contact if someone is hungry or needs gas money to get somewhere. Panhandlers generally take advantage of people. It can also be very dangerous.
I am a veteran, I served 22 years in the military, I have a VA disabilty, Service connected, but you dont see me on the street begging for money and making people feeling sorry for me just because of just being lazy, Oh thats the easy way out, of course, it just ticks me off people like that. THE ONLY THING I WOULD GIVE HIM IS A JOB APPLICATION! OR DIRECTIONS OUT OF TOWN!
Here's what I think. Feel free to give your input.
This guy (more than likly) is a vetern. He went to war and fought for this great country. Now, he has to beg for money. Even if it is for smokes, for gas for his car, or maybe even a tire if his chair needs one. Why not take him and every other vetern living on the streets and give them a place to live. Make the goverment pay for it. Call it "The Great Vetern Thank You." Thank you for fighting for everything we have.
Go to Slater, walk through the Fall Fest. On your way (across the street from H&R Block) is the where the bank used to be. Continue down, look at the window where the guy makes glass pictures and other things. It says, "If you can read this, thank a teacher. If you can read this in English, thank a soldier." The president makes over $400K a year, tax free. Make him pay for it, himself....slowly.
Eric, I too, think they missed your point or the point of the article. I have felt sorry for beggars before and I have a soft hearted daughter who has given away her hard earned money to these con-artist. I will suggest she read this story.
My husband and I also saw a man standing on the side of the road saying he was starving and after much discussion decide to buy him food and take it back down the ramp and give him the food. Our reasoning was he won't buy booze with our money. He acted fine with the food and we were on our way feeling some what pleased with our decision. We are Christians and we serve an awesome God. We decided after this incident to give when we feel called and let God be his judge.
Now, about tips on corn husking how about just information about when the parade starts and if school gets out early and which route the parade with take.
No early dismissal according to the Marshall school calendar.
The Columbia Tribune did a story several years ago, interviewed panhandlers who stood outside the post office in Columbia everyday - some take home $50,000/ year - tax free. Pretty good living if you aren't too proud to beg. Not a lot of skill to master either.
ieatsuperglue,
The government is owned by the tax payers. Why should tax payer money go to someone that is scamming his way through life? This man stated he recieved two pensions, why do I owe him anything. He travels to hundreds of towns to beg, what a joke. The problem is now, all of the Government tax payer handouts for stupid stuff. If you haven't noticed, our country is broke and people like you want to keep writing bounced checks to hand the money over to these scam artist low lifes??
We have these scam artist in our own community, we don't need to import them! Not all of the people at the food pantry scams, but a few do. People can't afford milk or medicine for their babies, but still buy those $4.50 a pack smokes and a case of beer a night. See we have enough scam artist right here....They just are a little sneaky about the way they work it!
ieatsuperglue,
What makes you think its the responsibility if the government to help these people??
Well said IESG.
We have panhandlers at most major intersections in Oklahoma City every day, rain or shine. It has been that way for over a year now. I have lived here over forty years. There has never been so many in that time span, even during the 1980 oil bust that devastated Oklahoma City.
Eric - I appreciate your story and wonder if people who don't are just ticked off becuase they were fooled and gave him money? Several years ago there was a guy in KC standing on the curb in front of McDonald's holding a sign that said "hungry, please help". So as I went through and got my food, I bought him a meal, stopped and handed it to him. He threw it at my car and cussed me out. Guess he wasn't so hungry afterall.
LOOKS LIKE HE CAN AFFORD CIGARETTES OR IS THAT SOMETHING ELSE HANGING OUT OF HIS MOUTH?
There will always be people who want something for nothing, and this fellow is no different. It is shameful, but a fact of life. Hey Eric, you could do a follow-up piece on the lady who regularly panhandles at a local convenience store. Just kidding!
Oklahoma,
I've never drove past and wondered what someone's story was. I only wonder why our goverment can't step up and help people.
Eric: A fine job. I can't (yes I can) believe that so many people missed the point of your story.
Also, I bet every one of them has driven by a street corner beggar, and wondered, "what's that guys story?" Well now they have one. Wanna bet that in most minds from this point forward they will have generalized that all people who ask for money are grifters?
Thanks, Eric! I think you got your message through just fine. It's unfortunate that others couldn't read between the lines! Unfortunately, if you don't warn some Marshall residents about the true intentions of this guy (like Eric did in his story by including information about his legal problems) some might fall for this panhandler's lame story! Good job, MDN.
$4.50 pack of cigarettes on him, Cardinals cap and a Bible, what else could you ask for?? Oh a Chiefs shirt would have been nice!
I wish I would have know this ahead of time, I would have went and set by him with a sign that said Donate to the boy and Girl Scouts or the 4-H. I truly wonder who would have collected the most money?
Oh my, they impounded his wheelchair and he had to walk...
If he can walk, he can get a job.
I do agree, I have a goal of $200K. I'd better go beg for it as well.... so I can be in the paper.
lol...Only in America Folks! I had to read this three times before I could stop laughing and shaking my head... I wish I could afford to go to Mexico and wish I had two pension checks...wow I would almost guess the pension checks are, let me quess, for getting disabled on the job maybe?? This guy is laughing all the way to the bank.
I remember an article in the St. Louis paper years ago that was about how people would pan handle on the off ramps dressed up like bumbs and then go change into their nice clothes and get in their nice cars and drive away. They said they made alot more money doing this, than a job.
Will the paper donate me an umbrella if I try this???...lol Because I'm sure it will pour rain, maybe hail, the day I try it...Still shaking my head!
I think it would have just been easier to put a stop payment on the checks he was robbed of in the beginning. Then none of this other stuff would have even had a chance to happen and he could be off wherever he came from still living a measly life not contributing to society. Boonville police won't help this guy if he decides to come to town. Thanks for giving us a picture to identify the idiot by. Not offering a dime.
This guy claims he's not on drugs? Why on earth does he think Marshall area residents should give him 200K? If he thinks he really has that money coming to him, why didn't he show up in court for his lawsuits?
well both my post was taken out, so i will just ASK HOW MUCH DID NP GIVE THIS GUY just to print his stupid story. if he had two courts appearences and didnt show up shows he has no grounds for people to pity him. i would much rather read about a prisoner running away from police then this bum. you say it better then i could (this guy) hell they would take mine out.
Gee whiz Eric Crump. Some days you just can't win. I appreciate your story about the bum. There is no irony in my remark, unlike the article you wrote. You have warned the masses, now some want to vilify the messenger. Surely you will have a better day tomorrow. Don't give up.
Wow, what a compelling story by this panhandler! I'm sure people will be lining up in Marshall to help this guy collect his $200,000 for an impounded car and wheelchair! LOL
holy cow.....nice investigative reporting eric. very nice. pulitzer stuff there, oh blessed blessed warrior of the pen! the gratefulness we should all feel when reading your indepth, educating, to the point, no holds barred stories is understated. keep it up oh barbarian of the bic