RIVER RADIO NEWS 011215
POPLAR BLUFF MAN SENTENCED ON SEX ABUSE CHARGES
A Poplar Bluff man has been sentenced to three 15 year terms in prison on several sex related charges.
According to a release from the Poplar Bluff Police Department, 49 year old Samuel Gonzales pled guilty to the charges of Statutory Sodomy, Abuse of a Child, and Sexual Exploitation of a Child in Jefferson County Court.
The convictions are the result of a multi-jurisdictional investigation which combined the efforts of Investigators with the Poplar Bluff Police Department, Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, the Southeast Missouri Cybercrimes Task Force, and Missouri ICAC.
SIKESTON POLICE INVESTIGATE WEEKEND HOMICIDE
Police in Sikeston are investigating a weekend shooting that left one man dead.
Few details have been released at this time, however it is known that the shooting occurred near Smith Street, just south of Missouri Delta Medical Center. Authorities say a subject was shot in the center turn lane of North Main Street. The suspect then fled the scene and left the victim in his vehicle.
Sikeston officers arrived on the scene to find the victim dead with gunshot wounds.
MOBILE HOME FIRE CLAIMS LIFE OF ONE
Officials in Kennett are investigating a mobile home fire that claimed the life of one person early Sunday morning.
Authorities say fire fighters responded a call shortly after 4 am about a home fire on Neal Street. When they arrived, the mobile home was 90 percent engulfed in flames.
An investigation revealed that three people had been inside when the fire broke out. Two people were able to escape the structure. A third person was unable to and was later found deceased. The victim’s name has not yet been released. An autopsy has been scheduled for this morning.
Anyone with any information about the fire is asked to contact authorities at 573-888-4622.
DEXTER MAN FATALLY INJURED IN CRASH WHEN THROWN FROM VEHICLE
A Dexter man was fatally injured in a single vehicle crash Saturday in Butler County.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol reports 36 year old Trennis J. Talley was driving on Highway C, about two miles south of Poplar Bluff, when his vehicle ran off the side of the road and overturned. Talley was thrown from the vehicle and pronounced dead at the scene. The crash occurred shortly before 2:30 am.
Talley was not wearing his safety device at the time of the accident.
GIDEON MAN DIES IN SINGLE VEHICLE CRASH
A weekend single vehicle wreck has claimed the life of a 21 year old Gideon man.
According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol, Byron M. Windham-Sharp was travelling on County Road 248 in New Madrid County, about one mile west of Tallapoosa. They say Windham-Sharp lost control of his vehicle, running off the right side of the road, striking a telephone box and then running off a bridge and overturning into a ditch.
The crash occurred at around 2 am Saturday. Windham-Sharp’s body was not discovered until Sunday. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
BODY FOUND OUTSIDE WILSON CITY HOME, NO FOUL PLAY SUSPECTED
Authorities say no foul play is suspected after a woman’s body was discovered outside a Wilson City home.
The body of 41 year old Jeannie Sloan was discovered Saturday morning. Mississippi County Coroner Terry Parker says cold weather may have been a factor in the death. Parker says he does not suspect foul play. Sloan’s body was discovered wearing no clothes.
The case is being investigated by the Mississippi County Sheriff’s Department and the Missouri State Highway Patrol.
ARKANSAS STATE POLICE INVESTIGATE OFFICER INVOLVED SHOOTING IN JONESBORO
A police officer involved shooting in Jonesboro is under investigation by the Arkansas State Police.
Authorities say the shooting happened Friday afternoon when agents with the 2nd Judicial Drug Task Force attempted to serve a warrant on an unnamed individual.
They say while officers were serving the warrant, the suspect pulled into the driveway and attempted to hit several officers with his vehicle. Police fired on the suspect.
The suspect was treated at an area hospital.
KENNETT POLICE SEARCHING FOR MAN ACCUSED OF ASSAULT
Police in Kennett are searching for a man who is accused of assauting his ex-girlfriend at Walmart Friday.
Authorities say they are looking for Joshua Hamlett, of Kennett.
Hamlett is facing charges of domestic assault, endangering the welfare of a child and violation of a protection order.
ARKANSAS RECEIVES C- IN REVISED EDUCATION REPORT CARD
(AP) Arkansas ranked 36th among 50 states in a newly released national report card on education that two years ago listed Arkansas as fifth in the nation.
The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports that the national publication Education Week gave Arkansas an overall score of 70.2 out of 100 points, the letter grade equivalent of a C-. The nation as a whole received a score of 74.3, or a C.
Sterling Lloyd, a research associate with the Education Week Research Center and project manager for the 2015 report, says the rankings aren't comparable because the ranking system changed.
Lloyd says previous Quality Counts reports that ranked Arkansas fifth in the nation relied on three categories that focused on states' education policies. Lloyd says those three policy-related categories are no longer included.
