POPLAR BLUFF POLICE DEPARTMENT SEARCHING FOR INFORMATION ON LOCAL HOME INVASIONS
The Poplar Bluff Police Department is searching for information on two home invasions.
According to the department, the first incident was on a home in the 300 block of Meadow View Drive on July 17th, with the second occurring a few hours later in a house on the 1000 block of Clyde Avenue.
Both incidents report suspects leaving the scene of the incident in a white SUV. Two of the suspects, 17 year old Isaiah Rose and 20 year old Marcus Caruso, of Cape Girardeau, were booked and taken into custody in Butler County on suspicion of stealing, 1st degree robbery, armed criminal action, and 1st degree burglary. A third, unnamed suspect has been identified.
The residents of the home on Meadow View report that three or four black men entered the residence and robbed them. Two of the occupants were struck by the suspects with firearms, and were treated for lacerations to their heads.
If you have any information that could help the investigation into the break-ins, you are asked to call the Poplar Bluff Police Department at 573-785-5776, or the Butler County Sheriff’s Department at 573-785-8444.
POPLAR BLUFF WOMAN MAKES COURT APPEARANCE ON CHILD KIDNAPPING
A Poplar Bluff resident made a court appearance last week after being charged with kidnapping of a child.
According to the Poplar Bluff Police Department, 35 year old Melonie Watkins appeared on Thursday for the felony charge of child kidnapping, after authorities responded to a call on a residence in the 300 block of West Harper Street.
There, authorities were told by the callers that Watkins took the child without permission of the mother. After being tracked by her phone to Cape Girardeau, her vehicle was located and the 2 year old was found unharmed.
Watkins was then transported to the Butler County Justice Center on a $50,000 cash or surety bond.
TWO DRIVERS INJURED FOLLOWING COLLISION IN PEMISCOT COUNTY
Two drivers were seriously injured in a vehicle crash in Pemiscot County on Sunday.
According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol, two vehicles were traveling on County Road 363, south of Caruthersville, where they struck each other head-on in the middle of the roadway.
One of the drivers was transported by air to a hospital in Arkansas, while the second was flown to a hospital in Cape Girardeau for treatment.
FIVE SUSPECTS SENTENCED TO FEDERAL PRISON ON DRUG AND WEAPON CHARGES
Five suspects have been sentenced to time in federal prison on drug and weapon charges.
Officials with the Butler County Sheriff’s Department tell KWOC News that 24 year old Jaquan Whitfield, of St. Louis, 31 year old Mark Barks, of Patterson, 28 year old Amber Wrinkle, 35 year old Matthew Stoutt, and 36 year old Freeman Williams Jr., of Poplar Bluff, were sentenced after they pleaded guilty to drug distribution and weapon violation charges.
Williams, Whitfield, and Wrinkle were charged with distribution of heroin. Stoutt was sentenced on a charge of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, and distribution of methamphetamine. Barks was charged with possession of ammunition and firearms by a convicted felon.
The charges stem from multiple investigations by Police Departments and the SEMO Drug Task Force, who located the narcotics and weapons in the homes and persons of the five.
Williams was sentenced to 2 years, Whitfield to near 2 years, Wrinkle to 8 months, Stoutt to 10 years, and Barks was sentenced to almost 4 years in federal prison on these charges.
NINE CASES OF COVID-19 REPORTED IN BUTLER COUNTY; MISSOURI TOTAL CONTINUES TO RISE
Nine new cases of the coronavirus were reported in Butler County over the weekend, while Missouri’s total has continued to increase.
According to the Butler County Health Department, the nine additional cases have risen the Counties total to 179 cases. The Department will be working with the CDC to contact anyone who may have been exposed to the virus while the patients were active and infectious.
In Missouri, as of Sunday, there are a total of 41,927 cases in the state, and 1,197 deaths have been directly linked to the disease.
If you are showing any symptoms of the virus, including fever, shortness of breath, or persistent coughing, you are advised to contact your primary healthcare provider before visiting any hospital or emergency room.
INJURIES REPORTED FROM VEHICLE CRASH IN BUTLER COUNTY
Injuries were reported following a vehicle crash in Butler County on Friday.
Officials with the Missouri State Highway Patrol tell KWOC News that the crash happened on Route 67, at MO 158, where a vehicle failed to stop while exiting Route 67, and struck a rock filled ditch on 158.
The driver suffered moderate injuries from the crash, and was transported to a Poplar Bluff hospital for treatment.
