Dennis Hess and his ‘storied life’

Denim & Diamonds owner Dennis Hess wasn’t allowed to own a gun. Thirty-five years ago, Hess was convicted of selling drugs in Clay County, Missouri. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison on January 18, 1974, according to the results of a Missouri Highway Patrol background check. He served two years in prison and was released on probation on August 30, 1976. His punishment was complete on March 15, 1988, when the Missouri Board of Probation in Jefferson City took him off probation.

Hess was truly a self-made man, fashioning successful business ventures after he’d paid for his crime. He had faith in other people, former employees recall. Hess’ forgiving nature may have been partly shaped by his recognition that he, too, was given a second chance.

The mother of one of Hess’ daughters told The Pitch this summer that she’d never known Hess to be violent toward women. His fourth wife, Lena Hess, claimed the opposite in court filings. 

A former girlfriend of Hess’, Karyn Grounds, filed a petition for an order of protection against Hess in 2001 in Platte County Circuit Court. On the petition, Grounds wrote that she lived with Hess on Humphrey Road in Platte City, and that on January 1, 2001, he “shoved me down the stairs.” On January 11, 2001, she wrote, Hess “threatened to kill me, swung a crow bar at me, threw a phone hitting me in the face and causing injury.” On the part of the form that asks why she’s afraid of Hess, she wrote, “He threatened to kill me. He’s mad because I’m leaving him and buying a house. [He] tore up my check so I can’t close on a house tomorrow morning. I’m trying to get back on my feet and get out and it’s making him crazy. I’ve never seen him threaten or act violent like this until recently.”

See the petition for order of protection after the jump: