Crime News

Three separate shootings occurred over a span of eight hours in Cape Girardeau from Wednesday night into Thursday morning, according to Cape Girardeau police Sgt. Joey Hann. According to Hann, the three separate shootings do not appear to be related to one another...

Today, all trials held at the Cape Girardeau County Courthouse in Jackson will be moved to the new courthouse across the street. The old location will no longer be in use, Circuit Court Division III Judge Frank Miller said. Miller said the biggest improvement in the new courthouse is the addition of better security to protect all individuals who enter the courthouse. ...

SIKESTON, Mo. -- A former Sikeston police officer charged in a deadly crash that occurred Feb. 29 has pleaded not guilty. Andrew Cooper, who is charged with one Class B felony count of driving while intoxicated and causing a death, one unclassified felony count of armed criminal action and three Class D felony counts of driving while intoxicated and causing serious physical injury, waived a formal arraignment and entered a plea of not guilty Tuesday...

Three people are now facing felony and misdemeanor charges for their alleged involvement in a Saturday burglary at Diebold Orchards in Benton, Missouri. In a Thursday news release, Scott County Sheriff Wes Drury stated deputies were called to Diebold Orchards for a possible burglary in progress and found 26-year-old Allie Halfacre on the property...

A man was shot and transported by ambulance Wednesday night, according to Cape Girardeau police Sgt. Joey Hann. He was unable to provide further information about the victim's status or injuries at this time. "Officers are busy actively working the scene and [the] ambulance just arrived," Hann stated...

After 20 years in the former Cape Girardeau County Courthouse and months of postponed proceedings due to the coronavirus, Division II Circuit Judge Benjamin Lewis held his first docket day of in-person, non-emergency proceedings Tuesday in the newly-built chambers of Courtroom 301...

Enhanced security, improved safety and a lot more space. That’s what Jackson police chief James Humphreys says the city and his department are getting as the department moves into a new $6.5 million headquarters at 202 W. Jackson Blvd., next door to the building it shared for many years with Jackson’s fire/rescue department...

New details of the Missouri State Highway Patrol’s investigation into a Feb. 29 fatal two-vehicle crash in Sikeston, Missouri, were finalized May 21 and published in a 149-page crash reconstruction report, which includes body-camera footage, speed analyses and vehicular data captured from both vehicles’ internal computers...

After nearly three months of investigation, charges have been filed in Scott County against a former Sikeston, Missouri, police officer. Now-resigned Sikeston Department of Public Safety Capt. Andrew Cooper, 47, faces charges for his alleged involvement in a Feb. 29 crash that killed a 22-year-old Sikeston woman and seriously injured four others, including himself...

SIKESTON, Mo. -- It was a story that grabbed headlines in southeast Missouri newspapers and led radio and television broadcasts: the news of a motorcyclist missing from a Sikeston motel, then the discovery of his body in a field in New Madrid County and finally, the arrests in connection with the crime...

An alleged drunken driver was taken into custody after ramming one Cape Girardeau police officer’s patrol vehicle during a Saturday night pursuit and causing another officer to break a finger. The driver, Eliseo Carmona, was charged with one Class E felony count of driving while intoxicated, one Class E felony count of resisting arrest, one Class E felony count for leaving the scene of an accident causing property damage exceeding $1,000, one Class A misdemeanor for fourth-degree assault on an officer, and one Class A misdemeanor for driving while revoked. ...

A 22-year-old woman from Cape Girardeau is facing charges for firing shots at a vehicle after a crash in the intersection of William Street and South West End Boulevard on Thursday afternoon. Deandra L. Patterson is charged with one Class B felony count of unlawful use of a weapon, according to Cape Girardeau police Sgt. Joey Hann, and she is being held on a $25,000 cash- or surety-bond...

A 33-year-old Jackson man is facing charges including fleeing from police, domestic assault and armed criminal action after allegedly chasing his ex-girlfriend in a miles-long pursuit through Cape Girardeau before fleeing from police and crossing into Illinois...

Missouri courts information is more readily available now at courts.mo.gov/pandemic, according to a news release. Missouri Courts' main COVID-19 alerts page now allows users to quickly determine the phase courts are operating in as courts begin a phased reopening, the release stated...

Two years ago this week, David Robinson walked out of the Jefferson City Correctional Center after being freed hours after the recommendation of then-Missouri Attorney General (now U.S. senator) Josh Hawley that charges be dismissed. Robinson's release ended a long legal battle freeing him from a life sentence for first-degree murder without the possibility of parole...

David Robinson and the City of Sikeston, Missouri have reached a settlement agreement, according to a statement released by Sikeston city manager Jonathan M. Douglass. "The City of Sikeston's insurance carriers have reached a settlement with David Robinson related to his incarceration in 2001," the release stated. ...

Shots were fired by a driver after multiple vehicle accidents occurred about 2:30 p.m. Thursday near the intersection of William Street and South West End Boulevard in Cape Girardeau, according to statements from police and witnesses at the scene. A witness who requested to be identified as Mr. Andrews described the entire incident...

Starting on Monday, the Cape Girardeau Police Department will provide a new Online Incident Reporting system to offer people a method for safely and immediately filing reports to the agency. The online reporting portal will allow people to report crimes that are not an emergency or currently in progress, according to a news release, and the department is encouraging the public to utilize the system to help mitigate and reduce the frequency of unnecessary exposure and spread of COVID-19...

The driver in a January police pursuit was sentenced to 15 years in prison under the custody of the Illinois Department of Corrections and two years of mandatory supervised release Tuesday in Alexander County, Illinois. Charles A. Franz, 31, of Yuba City, California, pleaded guilty to one Class X felony count of aggravated discharge of a firearm in the direction of a police officer. ...

In observance of Law Enforcement Memorial Week, the Cape Girardeau County Sheriff’s Office presented awards to four officers and employees. Sheriff Ruth Ann Dickerson presented the 2019 Timothy J. Ruopp Award to Lt. Zachary Dillard. The award is presented as “the Highest Tribute for Outstanding Service to His Department, Community and His Fellow Officers In The Name of Timothy J. Ruopp” ...

Nicholas J. Proffitt, 42, has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Cape Girardeau for his involvement with the April 24 fire at the Islamic Center of Cape Girardeau. According to a Tuesday news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the indictment charges Proffitt with “damaging religious property because of the property’s religious character, using fire to commit a federal felony, and damaging a building used in interstate commerce through the use of fire.” ...

One day before Christian School for the Young Years planned to reopen, a man allegedly broke into the local preschool and vandalized the facility. Cape Girardeau police Sgt. Joey Hann stated the man was found inside the preschool at about 10 a.m. Sunday before fleeing the building...

NEW MADRID, Mo. -- A New Madrid man is facing charges after an argument ended with gunshots Friday evening. According to a probable cause statement from Sgt. John Dubois of the New Madrid Police Department, he was patrolling at 5:15 p.m. Friday when he received a call of a fight in progress with shots fired at 721 Davis St. in New Madrid. The victim told the dispatcher that she was trying to leave when Alec Collier broke the key to her car, slashed her tires and shot at her...

After allegedly fleeing from police in mid-April, a 24-year-old Cape Girardeau man now faces additional charges for attempting to disarm an officer and resisting arrest. The first set of charges against the suspect, Deion Phillips, stem from an April 19 call in the 1100 block of Cousin Street...

A driver led a police pursuit involving multiple Missouri law enforcement agencies and crossed the Bill Emerson Memorial Bridge into Illinois shortly before 1 p.m. Wednesday. The suspect vehicle, a white 2020 Dodge Ram 1500 pickup truck, was observed on Interstate 55 at the 86 mile marker in Scott County, according to Missouri State Highway Patrol Sgt. Clark Parrott...