A West Plains man charged in March with five felony counts of possession of child pornography and arrested in April in Nebraska has been issued a summons to appear in court June 7 for a trial setting in the courtroom of Presiding 37th Circuit Judge Steven Privette, but court records show the summons was returned undeliverable on Friday after he moved without leaving a forwarding address.
Adam M. Gibbs, 35, was initially held on a $75,000 bond, but the records do not show how he was released from custody, whether he posted bond or was released on his own recognizance, which is his promise to appear.
Gibbs waived extradition from Washington County, Neb., pledging that he was returning to Missouri of his own free will, accompanied by an official, before appearing April 19 to enter a plea of not guilty and waive formal arraignment, the records show.
At that time, according to the docket, he was scheduled to appear again April 26 for a counsel status hearing; Public Defender Jack Paisley appeared with Gibbs that day and a case setting was scheduled for June 7, but then on April 29, Paisley filed a motion to withdraw from the case, which was granted by Privette the following day. The summons that was returned as undeliverable was issued May 1. Paisley’s motion, court documents show, includes a referral to the Office of State Public Defender Transfer Attorney for assignment of new legal representation; as of Thursday morning, no attorney is listed as representing Gibbs.
A probable cause statement submitted to prosecutors by West Plains Police detective and Southwest Missouri Cyber Crimes Task Force (SMCCTF) investigator Detective Joe Neuschwander on March 13 noted Gibbs was homeless at the time and had not been located for a law enforcement interview related to the allegations, but a warrant was requested.
Neuschwander said in his report that, on Jan. 18, the SMCCTF got a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children indicating Google employees saw files depicting child sexual abuse on a Google Photos account linked to Gibbs.
Further investigation of Google and Instagram accounts linked to Gibbs revealed 13 files depicting child sexual abuse with subjects under the age of 14, Neuschwander added.
A grand jury indictment and warrant were issued the day the probable cause statement was filed by the detective, and the warrant was served April 18, court records show.
