SUSPECT CHARGED FOR SOUTHEAST MISSOURI HOMICIDE

Updating a story we brought to you earlier this week, a suspect has been charged in connection to a homicide investigation in Southeast Missouri.

According to the Charleston Department of Public Safety, 21 year old Tyrese Tate, of Cape Girardeau, was arrested on Monday.

The arrest stemmed from the death of 18 year old Zionta Haynes who was found dead with gunshot wounds following a car crash in Sikeston on Sunday. The driver of the car also had gunshot wounds and was transported to a St. Louis hospital.

Charleston Department of Public Safety Director Robert Hearnes says that Tate has been charged with murder 1st degree, assault 1st degree, armed criminal action, and unlawful use of a weapon.

Hearnes added that Tate is being held in the Mississippi County Jail on a no bond warrant and the investigation into the incident is ongoing.

FLAG RETIREMENT CEREMONY SET FOR THIS WEEKEND IN WAPPAPELLO

A flag retirement ceremony has been scheduled for this weekend in Wappapello.

The Poplar Bluff Chapter of the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution will be performing flag retirements at 4:30 pm on Saturday at the Wappapello Civic Center.

Anyone who has a flag they would like to retire can bring it to the civic center between 2 and 4 pm on Saturday. Officials say that the ceremony will be open to the public.

For more information, call 573-776-7070.

PB ONE OF 21 STATE SCHOOL DISTRICTS TO RECEIVE GRANT MONEY TO IMPROVE HEALTH AND WELLNESS OF STUDENTS AND TEACHERS

The Poplar Bluff School District is one of 21 rural school districts across the state to receive grant money to improve the health and wellness of students and teachers.

Poplar Bluff R-I will get $3,870 to purchase Calm resources for teachers and hire a mental health consultant in the junior high.

The grant money comes from the Community Foundation of the Ozarks and the Louis L. and Julia Dorothy Coover Charitable Foundation.

To guide this year’s Coover Regional education program, the Community Foundation of the Ozarks conducted a survey of educators in its network of school partners and received more than 400 responses.

Among funding priorities, the health and mental health of both students and teachers were identified as areas of greatest need in rural school districts.

FORMER SOUTHEAST MISSOURI POLICE CHIEF TO SPEND TIME IN JAIL FOR USING EXCESSIVE FORCE

A former police chief in Southeast Missouri will be spending time behind bars for using excessive force.

According to the United States Attorney’s Office, former Marble Hill Police Chief, 55 year old Marc Tragesser, pleaded guilty in January to a misdemeanor charge of deprivation of rights under color of law.

In November of 2018, Tragesser went to a Marble Hill home where a woman was staying. He was accompanied by the paternal grandmother of the woman’s children and falsely claimed he had a court order allowing the grandmother to take the children.

When the woman asked to see a copy of the court order, Tragesser shoved her against the wall and handcuffed her. He also arrested her boyfriend.

Tragesser detained the woman in his police vehicle for 90 minutes, only releasing her when she agreed to turn over her children to their grandmother, who did not have custody or visitation rights.

The woman did not see her children again until March of 2019.

Tragesser was sentenced on Tuesday to nine months behind bars.

TWO NEW COMMERCIAL VEHICLE OFFICERS ASSIGNED TO SOUTHEAST MISSOURI

The Missouri State Highway Patrol has assigned two new commercial vehicle officers to help keep roadways safe in Southeast Missouri.

CVO Jamey Dockins and LyTyron Robinson Sr. graduated from the Highway Patrol’s Law Enforcement Academy last week as a part of the 13th Commercial Vehicle Officers Class.

Dockins and Robinson were both assigned to Troop E which covers most of Southeast Missouri. There were a total of six graduates who completed the 22 week training.

MISSOURI DEPARTMENT OF CONSERVATION REMINDS MISSOURIANS TO WATCH FOR BEARS

With summer coming up, the Missouri Department of Conservation is reminding southeast Missouri residents to be Bear Aware.

MDC Southeast Regional Administrator Matt Bowyer tells KWOC News that now is the prime time for seeing young male black bears on the move.

Bowyer added that this time of year we are likely to see a bear as young males naturally wander in search of a new place to call home.

The bear population is expanding, both in total numbers and range, which might explain the uptick in sightings in recent years.

The MDC’s ongoing bear research indicates the Show-Me-State is currently home to around 800 black bears, and that population is growing by 8 percent each year.

For more information on black bears in Missouri as well as tips to avoid issues if a bear has been sighted, go to mdc.mo.gov/BearAware.