Have You Heard?

WICHITA — Watercress developer and lawyer LewJene Schneider has filed an appeal of her conviction last month in Maize Municipal Court on theft and criminal damage charges.

The charges stemmed from a long-running dispute that Schneider has with Fiddler’s Cove developer Bob Scott over real estate signs.

“She has requested a jury trial,” says lawyer Jess Hoeme, who is representing Schneider along with Steve Joseph.

A trial is scheduled for Oct. 9.

WICHITA — Watercress developer and lawyer LewJene Schneider was convicted of theft and criminal damage in Maize Municipal Court on Wednesday.

The charges stem from a long-running dispute that Schneider has with Fiddler’s Cove developer Bob Scott over real estate signs.

In February, Scott told Have You Heard? that he placed directional signs on city property by the Watercress development near 37th and Maize Road in order to help people find Fiddler’s Cove, which is accessible only through Watercress.

Scott says he complained to police when the signs began disappearing and eventually started calling daily to complain. Finally, he says, police used a surveillance camera in September to figure out that Schneider took the signs.

Lawyer Jess Hoeme, who is representing Schneider along with Steve Joseph, says his client contacted the city of Maize several times regarding the signs, which he says Scott placed illegally.

“No one from the city of Maize ever removed them,” Hoeme says.

“Bob Scott, the victim, admitted that he did not have permission to put those signs on Watercress property, nor did he have permission to put them on city property,” Hoeme says. “He just did it.”

Scott says it was “common practice” for people to put up signs without permission.

“Doesn’t make it right, but everyone was doing it – primarily LewJene,” he says.

Hoeme says the judge didn’t rule on whether Scott placed the signs legally or not. He only ruled on Schneider removing them.

“The judge doesn’t believe that even if those signs were unlawfully placed on her property that she had the right to remove them,” Hoeme says.

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WICHITA — A dispute between two Maize developers has escalated to charges being filed against one of them.

Watercress developer and lawyer LewJene Schneider has an April 4 court date over charges that were filed in September.

Neither Schneider nor her lawyer will comment on the situation because of her pending court date.

Schneider faces misdemeanor theft and damage of property charges in Maize Municipal Court for allegedly taking a competitor’s signs from city property near her development.

“We finally decided we’ve got to put a stop to this,” says Fiddler’s Cove developer Bob Scott. “Our real estate signs have disappeared for three years in a row.”

Scott says he placed directional signs on a city easement to help people find Fiddler’s Cove, which is accessible only through Watercress, near 37th and Maize Road.

Scott says he complained to police when the signs began disappearing and eventually started calling daily to complain. Finally, he says, police used a surveillance camera to figure out what was going on.

“They called and said, ‘We have the problem solved,’ ” Scott says. “I knew who it was all the time. … There was no motivation for anybody else to do it.”

Scott says he and Schneider have had several differences.

“We’ve had many conversations in the last three years, and it’s not a friendly conversation.”

Scott says he’s paid about $250,000 toward road and other improvements near the entrance of Watercress. He says part of that money went toward the Watercress sign, which he says he spent because he thought there was an agreement to eventually have a sign for Fiddler’s Cove.

“I made the agreement,” Scott says. “It was my fault.”

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