Acquittal — Felony Tampering With Physical Evidence

Tuesday, May 5, 2026 – Steve Walsh and his associate, Barbara “BJ” Knapp, represented a Defendant on a felony Tampering with Physical Evidence charge. This was a change of venue from Stoddard County and was prosecuted by the Attorney General’s Office in Jefferson City.

Our client was charged with Tampering with Physical Evidence after she allegedly unplugged a video surveillance system 47 minutes after a bar fight was captured on the system. The entire video of altercation was saved to a hard drive and law enforcement officers used the footage to determine who was involved in the fight. Prosecutors later used the footage to fully prosecute those five individuals who were charged with assault.

On cross-examination, each of the State’s witnesses conceded that unplugging the video surveillance system had no effect on the prosecution of any individual involved in the incident. At the close of the State’s evidence, Steve and BJ moved for a Judgment of Acquittal on the grounds that the State failed to present sufficient evidence to prove each element of the charged offenses. The Court granted the motion and entered a judgment acquitting the Defendant of all charges. As a result of the Court’s ruling, the case was never submitted to the jury for deliberation or verdict.