33-year-old Joseph Esparza of Newburg has been arraigned on charges of tampering in the first degree, forgery, and burglary

33-year-old Joseph Esparza of Newburg has been arraigned in Pulaski County Associate Circuit Court in Waynesville on charges of tampering in the first degree, forgery, and burglary. Court documents allege that Esparza on December 2nd knowingly and without the consent of the owner possessed a 1998 Pontiac Grand Am and used a genuine Certificate of Title for that automobile, knowing that it had been made or altered so that it purported to have an ownership that it did not possess. The documents also allege that on the same date, Esparza entered a building in Waynesville for the purpose of stealing. Esparza pleaded not guilty to all three charges. Judge Colin Long ordered him to personally appear for a counsel status hearing on December 12th and a preliminary hearing on January 3rd.