Private Eye Accused of Planting Evidence in Oklahoma Moves to Arizona

Originally published in Victoria Advocate.com.

Nine years after a fatal shooting, a Texas private investigator nicknamed "The Rhino" reported to the slain woman's parents that he had found new evidence.

He told the parents he'd found an unfired .25-caliber bullet last year in the backyard of the crime scene. He told police the same thing.

In a report to the parents, James Leroy Richards promised to have the bullet checked for fingerprints. He wrote he firmly believes the bullet was from "the murder weapon."

Police allege he is a liar.

Richards, 58, goes professionally by the name Richard Lee James and also is a bounty hunter.

Richards was charged Sept. 9 with a misdemeanor - obstructing an officer in the performance of his official duties. Oklahoma County prosecutors say they are disappointed they couldn't charge him with a felony.

Midwest City police still are investigating the death of Nancy Probst. The partially nude woman was shot in the head inside her house on Nov. 16, 2000. She was 32. Her baby girl, in a nearby crib, was unharmed.

Prosecutors charged her husband, Matthew J. Probst, with first-degree murder but later dismissed the case because of insufficient evidence. Police said last year he has never been cleared as a suspect.

Richards told the victim's parents he dug up the bullet last year during a search of the backyard of the house where the victim lived. He reported it was "buried in the soil in the area where the storage shed used to be."

Police reported Richards had a long excuse for why he had not turned the bullet over to officials.

Police said the house's current tenant reported the investigator spent only a brief time in the backyard, never dug there and did not remove anything.

Midwest City Police Detective Lacky J. Harkins reported the homicide investigation was slowed and valuable time and resources were wasted "due to the lies" the private investigator told him and a police lieutenant.

The detective said Richards admitted in a phone conversation in March that he had lied about the discovery. Then, the detective reported, Richards at one point stated, "Let's just say it was planted." Finally, the detective reported, Richards admitted he had brought the bullet with him.

"He wanted me to just drop the whole incident. I told him I thought it was sorry of him to have taken the family's money and make this up. He agreed it was sorry," Harkins said.

Oklahoma County District Attorney David Prater said restitution will be sought from Richards if he is caught and convicted.

The victim's parents, Carl and Alberta Helmle, have hired several private investigators to look into their daughter's death. They paid Richards more than $5,000. They later fired him. They declined to comment.

Richards has lived in Texas, but he wrote on Twitter he was moving to Arizona. Because he faces only a misdemeanor, he will not be arrested in another state and extradited.

"But if he ever comes in the state of Oklahoma and he gets pulled over on a traffic ticket ... he can be held and we can go down and transport him up from whatever county he got arrested in," Prater said.

In an e-mail Saturday, Richards wrote he is being harassed by Midwest City police. He did not respond to a question about the charge.


"I've said it before and I'll say it again:  investigate your investigator first.  Get to know him or her, do a little research, and save yourself potential grief and wasted funds.  Please refer to my July 2010 article in this blog, 'How A Private Investigator Can Help You.' for more information."

Jeff Kimble, P.I.