Springfield Police Department makes four DWI arrests, 117 traffic stops during saturation patrol

(From the Springfield Police Department)

On March 11, 2023, officers with the Springfield Police Department, the Greene County Sheriff’s Office, and the Missouri State Highway Patrol conducted a DWI Saturation Patrol. Officers utilized marked patrol vehicles to enforce hazardous moving violations commonly associated with intoxicated driving.

As a result of this operation, there were 119 traffic stops, 45 citations, 99 Warnings, four DWI arrests, one misdemeanor warrant arrest, one felony drug arrest, and one felony arrest for resisting by fleeing.

The Springfield Police Department, the Greene County Sheriff’s Office, and the Missouri State Highway Patrol will conduct joint operations such as this periodically to ensure the motoring public's safety.

Springfield man killed in crash at Republic Road and National

(From the Springfield Police Department)

On March 8, 2023, at 5:01 p.m., officers with the Springfield Police Department responded to the area of Republic Road and National regarding a motor vehicle crash.

A red 2000 Chevrolet Silverado, driven by Christopher Coburn (51 of Springfield), was westbound on Republic Road when the vehicle swerved to the left and ran off the south side of the street.

 

The vehicle struck a culvert constructed of landscaping blocks and came to rest. Coburn was transported to an area hospital by ambulance, where he succumbed to his injuries.

The family of Mr. Coburn has been notified.

Anyone with any information about the crash is encouraged to contact the Springfield Police Department.

The investigation is ongoing as to the circumstances involved in the crash. This was the 7th fatality motor vehicle crash in Springfield in 2023.

Monett Police searching for missing man

(From the Monett Police Department)

The Monett Police Department is seeking information on Sammie King. He has been reported missing, and we are trying to locate him. 

If you have seen Sammie since 3-4-2023 or know his whereabouts, please contact the Monett Police Department at 417-235-4241.

Branson Police offer update on discovery of human skeletal remains

(From the Branson Police Department)

On 02/23/2023, Branson Police responded to the area of Violyn Drive in reference to possible skeletal remains. The Taney County Coroner's Office responded and took custody of the remains.

The remains have been confirmed to be human remains. Efforts to identify the individual so far have been unsuccessful. 

The Taney County Coroner's Office and Branson Police Department are seeking your help in identifying the individual. The Coroner’s Office is currently exploring other avenues for a more detailed description of the deceased.

So far, we believe the individual description to be: A white, possibly Native American, male approximately 40-50 years of age with light brown hair. The deceased did not have teeth, and may have worn dentures. He was wearing a Baylor University t-shirt and had a plastic bracelet with LENS written on it.

If you have any information on the possible identification of the individual, please call our Crime Tip Hotline at 417-334-1085 or fill out our Crime Tip form at www.bransonmo.gov/crimetip

Springfield Police investigate stabbing, assault

 

(From the Springfield Police Department)

On Wednesday evening, officers responded to the 1700 block of west Olive Street for a reported stabbing. When officers arrived on scene, they discovered the victim had a non-life threatening stab wound. According to a witness, the suspect, Meranda Doll, 29, stabbed the victim because he was being belligerent. Meranda was arrested for 2nd Degree Domestic Assault. Charges Pending
On early Friday morning, officers were dispatched to the 1500 block of east Raynell Court regarding a male suspect, Johnathan Probst, 36, assaulting three female victims. When officers arrived on scene, they observed Probst assaulting the victims. Probst was immediately detained in handcuffs and arrested for 2nd Degree Domestic Assault. Charges Pending

 
On Saturday night, officers were dispatched to the 1800 block of east Page regarding a stabbing. When officers arrived at the residence, they located the victim with a stab wound and provided first aid to stop the bleed. Officers located the suspect, Bernice Whitfield, 56, in the residence separate from the suspect. Bernice was arrested for 1st Degree Domestic Assault. Charges Filed

Lane reductions planned on I-44 bridges at Freistatt Branch

(From MODOT)

Lane Reductions on I-44 Bridges at Freistatt Branch Beginning Week of March 15 for Rehabilitation

I-44 traffic over Freistatt Branch west of Mt. Vernon near Mile Marker 41 in Lawrence County will be reduced to one lane in each direction for up to 90 days when contractor crews begin work to rehabilitate the bridges beginning the week of March 15, the Missouri Department of Transportation said.

Crews will make repairs to the bridge deck/driving surface and lay a new concrete surface. In addition, the contractor will add new approach pavement, new permanent striping and make substructure repairs.

These bridges were built in 1963 as two of the bridges built during the original construction of I-44 through Lawrence County. Approximately 30,600 vehicles cross these bridges daily.

Traffic Impacts

I-44 will be reduced to one lane of traffic in each direction near Mile Marker 41 for up to 90 days

Drivers should expect slowed traffic, traffic delays

Crews and large equipment near traffic

Speed limit will be reduced to 60 mph through work zone

Signs and message boards will alert drivers approaching the work zone

Drivers should consider alternate routes during the project

Check MoDOT’s Traveler Information Map for road closings/traffic impacts

Weather and/or construction delays could alter the work schedule.

This work is part of a three-year project to improve 25 bridges within 15 miles of I-44 across the Southwest District. Of the 25 bridges in the project, known as the I-44 Corridor Bridge Bundle, seven (7) are mainline I-44 bridges, five (5) are I-44 overpass bridges and the remaining bridges are on adjacent routes over various features. Sixteen (16) bridges will be replaced and nine (9) bridges will receive major rehabilitation work.

More information about this project can be found on the project website – I-44 Corridor Bridge Bundle.

Project Details

Prime Contractor – The ESS TeamEmery Sapp & Sons, Inc. – Columbia
Parsons Transportation Group, Inc. – St. Louis
Total Project Cost: $43.2 million
Contract Completion Date: September 30, 2024

The ESS Team is a partnership of engineering and construction firms that will design and construct the project with oversight by MoDOT and the Federal Highway Administration.

Arrest made in murder of Springfield woman

(From the Springfield Police Department)

On March 7, 2023, at approximately 3:29 a.m., Springfield police officers were dispatched to 206 S. Clifton Ave. after a 911 caller advised that a female at that location was unconscious and not breathing. 

Officers and EMS responded and provided medical aid, but she succumbed to her injuries and was pronounced deceased.

 

The female was identified as Crystal M. Dye, 41, from Springfield. Dye’s family has been notified.

An autopsy was performed, and the medical examiner discovered Dye had sustained serious internal injuries that were consistent with an assault.

Detectives with the Homicide Unit identified the suspect as Jerome Poole, a 59-year-old male from Springfield, Missouri. Poole was located, arrested, and booked into the Greene County Jail for second degree murder.

The case was presented to the Greene County Prosecutor’s Office and Jerome Poole has been charged with second degree murder. He is being held without bond. The Greene County Prosecutor’s Office cautions that the charges contained in the felony complaint are merely allegations and that the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty in court.

The investigation is ongoing and anyone who has information about this incident is asked to contact the Springfield Police Department at 417-864-1810 or to make an anonymous call to Crime Stoppers at 417-869-TIPS (8477).

This incident marks the second homicide investigation for 2023.

Traffic shifts, lane closures expected on James River Freeway

(From MODOT)

MoDOT TRAFFIC ALERT: U.S. Route 60 (James River Freeway) Narrow Lanes, Traffic Shifts
& Nighttime Lane Closures In Springfield Beginning Week of March 20

Where: Narrowed lanes, traffic shifts and nighttime lane closures on U.S. Route 60 (James River Freeway) between National Avenue and Campbell Avenue in Springfield

When: Beginning the week of March 20

What: Contractor crews are moving dirt and installing storm sewar pipes in the median. This is part of the U.S. ROUTE 60 (James River Freeway) Widening Project Between National Avenue & Kansas Expressway.

Traffic Impacts

Narrowed lanes and traffic shifts on Route 60 between National Avenue and Campbell Avenue in Springfield

Nighttime lane closures on Route 60 between National Avenue and Campbell Avenue

Drivers should not pass in the work zone due to narrowed driving lanes on Route 60

Crews and equipment close to traffic in areas

Signs and message boards will alert drivers approaching the work zone

Drivers should look for alternate route

Check MoDOT’s Traveler Information Map for road closings/traffic impacts

Weather and/or construction delays will alter the work schedule.

Project information:

Contractor: Capital Paving & Construction LLC, Jefferson City

Total estimated cost: $21 millionIntersection Improvements at Campbell Ave are a cost share with the City of Springfield

Project Webpage & sign up for project updates: https://www.modot.org/us-route-60-james-river-freeway-widening-project

Appellate court affirms $1.5 million judgment against Mercy Joplin for 2015 parking lot shooting

The Southern District Court of Appeals has upheld a $1.5 million judgment against Mercy Joplin in a civil suit stemming from a 2015 shooting in the hospital parking lot.

A Newton County jury found in favor of Steven Harner, 66, Monett, following a five-day trial in July 2021, determining that Mercy was 75 percent responsible for Harner's injuries.

According to a Joplin Police Department news release, Harner found Kaylea Nicole Liska, Webb City, 21 at the time, in his vehicle in the parking lot and confronted her. "She shot Harner and fled the scene." The police found Liska and arrested her the following morning.

Liska entered an Alford plea in 2017 and was sentenced to 20 years for assault and three years for armed criminal action to be served concurrently.

The history of the court proceedings was included in the court's opinion:

Harner sued Mercy in negligence relating to injuries Harner sustained in December 2015 when he was shot by Kaylea Liska (“Liska”) in Mercy’s parking lot while visiting his daughter at Mercy’s Emergency Department. 

Mercy moved for summary judgment, arguing it owed no duty to protect Harner from the criminal acts of a third party. The trial court denied summary judgment. 

The case was tried to a jury over five days beginning July 19, 2021. Mercy moved for directed verdict at the close of Harner’s case and at the close of all of the evidence, and the trial court denied both motions. 

On July 23, 2021, the jury returned a verdict for Harner and awarded damages of $2,000,000, which the trial court reduced to $1,500,000 based on the jury assessing Harner 25% of the fault. 

West Plains man sentenced to 28 years for leading meth conspiracy

(From the U. S. Attorney for the Western District of Missouri)

A West Plains, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for leading a conspiracy that distributed 360 kilograms of methamphetamine in southern Missouri over a three-year period.

James W. Fithen, Jr., also known as “Boss,” 38, was sentenced by U.S. Chief District Judge Beth Phillips to 28 years in federal prison without parole. The court also ordered Fithen to pay a money judgment of $3.6 million, which represents a conservative estimate of the total proceeds he obtained from the drug-trafficking conspiracy.

On March 8, 2022, Fithen pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and one count of aiding and abetting the attempted possession of methamphetamine with the intent to distribute.

Fithen acquired kilogram-level quantities of methamphetamine from Mexico and supplied co-defendants Patrick A. Dodson, also known as “Julio,” 42, of West Plains, and Samuel L. Pyatt, also known as “Tippy,” 47, of Pomona, Mo. Dodson and Pyatt then distributed methamphetamine to others during the three-year-long conspiracy that lasted from Feb. 28, 2017, to Feb. 28, 2020.

Fithen was arrested on Feb. 28, 2020, when he was intercepted by law enforcement in Arkansas on his return trip from buying methamphetamine in Texas. Officers found 2.5 kilograms of methamphetamine in the back seat of the vehicle where Fithen was riding.

During the investigation, law enforcement officers seized more than 4.5 kilograms of methamphetamine from conspirators who were supplied by Fithen. The Fithen drug-trafficking organization was selling 10 to 20 kilograms of methamphetamine per month, at a profit of approximately $100,000 per month.

According to court documents, Fithen put out a hit on co-defendant Christopher L. Dusenbury, 32, of Bowling Green, Mo., because Dusenbury stole seven pounds of methamphetamine from him.

Court documents report the impact such a large-scale drug-trafficking organization had on the small rural community in southern Missouri. The U.S. Census reported the population of West Plains was 11,986 in 2010. According to court documents, the amount of methamphetamine distributed by this drug-trafficking organization in one month alone was enough to supply four doses (0.25 grams) of methamphetamine to every man, woman, and child in the community.

In 2016, law enforcement officers in Howell County, Mo., reported 244 known violent and property crime offenses to the FBI. By 2020, that number had nearly doubled to 471.

Fithen is the twelfth defendant to be sentenced in this case. Dodson was sentenced to 23 years in federal prison without parole. Pyatt was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison without parole. Dusenbury was sentenced to 11 years and three months in federal prison without parole.

Megan L. Neal, also known as “Squirrel,” 39, of West Plains, was sentenced to 23 years in federal prison without parole. Bradley J. Russell, 58, of West Plains, was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison without parole. Bolinda J. Gleghorn, 60, of West Plains, was sentenced to nine years in federal prison without parole. Kevin L. Moss, 49, of West Plains, was sentenced to eight years and four months in federal prison without parole. Barbra L. Newton, 44, of West Plains, was sentenced to six years in federal prison without parole. Brady T. Smith, 27, of West Plains, was sentenced to six years in federal prison without parole. Austin L. Velarde, 27, of West Plains, was sentenced to five years in federal prison without parole. Leslie O. Collins, 48, of West Plains, was sentenced to four years in federal prison without parole.

Chelsea B. Cloven, 30, of West Plains, the final defendant remaining to be sentenced, pleaded guilty on July 5, 2022, and is scheduled to be sentenced on April 12, 2023.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica R. Eatmon. It was investigated by the South Central Drug Task Force, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Howell, Mo., Sheriff’s Department, the West Plains, Mo., Police Department, the Arkansas State Police, the Fulton County, Ark., Sheriff’s Department, and the Arkansas 16th Judicial Drug Task Force.