Clay Waller questioned seven hours after arrest on charges of stealing, harassment

Clay Waller was questioned by police for seven hours following his arrest Friday night, but his lawyer suspects investigators were interested in more than the stealing and harassment charges that landed his client in jail.

While those who interviewed Waller into the early morning hours Saturday emphasized the arrest had nothing to do with the June 1 disappearance of Waller's wife, his lawyer, Scott Reynolds, isn't buying it.

Clay Waller is transported by the Missouri State Highway Patrol to the Cape Girardeau County Justice Center in Jackson Friday night, July 29, 2011. He was arrested earlier in Malden, Mo. on charges not related to the disappearance of his wife, Jacque Waller. (Fred Lynch)

"I'm sure that a substantial part of the seven-hour interview was about Jacque," Reynolds said. "They say he's not cooperating with them. They're pulling every string they can to get him in jail, confined, so they can try to interrogate him."

Reynolds was also angry that he was denied access to his client until 4 a.m. Despite repeated attempts to get a message to Waller that Reynolds was at the jail to see him, Reynolds was not allowed to speak to Waller until the interview was over.

"I've been at this for 22 years, and I've never been denied access to a client like this," Reynolds said. "I'm sure the police will tell you he never asked for his lawyer, but they've always let me see my clients until now."

Lt. David James of the Cape Girardeau Sheriff's Department would only confirm that Waller was interviewed by police, declining to speak about the nature of the questioning or whether the investigation into Jacque Waller's disappearance came up.

"We interviewed him for a while," James said. "Obviously, we arrest somebody for criminal charges, we're going to interview them about the criminal charges. But I can't give out details about what exactly was said in the interview."

James said that Waller was not denied access to his lawyer, though he admitted the lawyer may have had to wait awhile.

Clay Waller, who turns 41 next week, remained in custody Saturday following his arrest Friday night in Malden, Mo., by the Missouri State Highway Patrol and the Malden Police Department. Waller faces charges of felony stealing by deceit and misdemeanor harassment.

Reynolds would not say what he discussed with his client Saturday, but Reynolds said Waller intends to enter pleas of not guilty to the charges at an arraignment that he expects to happen next week. Waller is being held on a $65,000 cash-only bond. Reynolds said that means Waller will probably "be in there for a while."

Clay Waller is transported by the Missouri State Highway Patrol to the Cape Girardeau County Justice Center in Jackson Friday night, July 29, 2011. He was arrested earlier in Malden, Mo. on charges not related to the disappearance of his wife, Jacque Waller. (Fred Lynch)

Probable-cause statements say Waller accepted a check for $55,000 from the Delta Cos. in April 2010 for work he never did -- money used to pay other expenses for his construction business. The harassment charge stems from a complaint made Wednesday by a former friend, Gary Hill, who told police that Waller threatened to kill him.

Clay Waller walks into the Cape Girardeau Common Pleas Courthouse before a custody hearing on Tuesday, June 7 2011. (Kristin Eberts)

In the harassment charge, the probable-cause statement said Hill's estranged wife had filed an order of protection against Waller but that it had not been served yet. Hill's wife, whom Hill is divorcing, asked him to tell Waller to leave her alone. When Hill spoke with Waller over the phone, Waller allegedly told him he was going to kill him and Hill called police. Waller told police he didn't threaten anyone, the statement says.

The probable-cause statement in the stealing charge says that in 2009, Waller's Triple C Development Co. won a bid to Delta Cos. to finish the interior of the building. Waller approached the project manager asking for an advance for building materials, the statement says. After providing a $55,000 invoice setting out items he would buy with the advance, the statement says that he never bought materials and told his company's co-owner to spend the money on payroll and other items and the work was never done.

The arrest left Reynolds with several questions, including how law enforcement knew Waller was in Malden on Friday, where he was just visiting for the day, Reynolds said.

Attorney Scott Reynolds attempts to see his client, Clay Waller, but he was refused access Friday night, July 29, 2011, at the Cape Girardeau County Justice Center in Jackson. Reynolds was allowed to see Waller seven hours later. (Fred Lynch)

"Do they have a trace on his phone? Do they have a tracking device on his car?" he asked.

Reynolds also wondered why a stealing charge, an incident that police said took place more than a year ago, is just now surfacing. Reynolds also asked why the co-owner of the company wasn't also charged.

James said the Missouri State Highway Patrol and the Department of Labor's Division of Labor Standards began investigating the stealing charge before Jacque's disappearance. The patrol submitted its probable-cause statement Friday, he said. The harassment complaint came to the Cape Girardeau Police Department, which also filed its statements Friday, James said. Cape Girardeau County Prosecuting Attorney Morley Swingle filed both charges Friday.

Clay Waller's booking photo

"It's not just some sort of a plan to get him into a room for an interrogation," James said. "I don't know what else to say. I can't comment on some lawyer's thoughts."

Jacque Waller's mother, Ruby Rawson, said Saturday she was glad to hear that Waller was in jail.

"We think that it's great that he's off the streets," she said. "It takes a load off our mind. But he's got a lot to lose if he talks. Knowing him, I doubt that he will."

If convicted, Waller faces five to 15 years in prison on the felony stealing charge and up to a year in the county jail and a fine up to $1,000 on the harassment charge.

Police say Clay Waller has not been very cooperative in helping investigators who are looking into disappearance of his wife. Police think Clay Waller was the last person to see her before she disappeared.

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