Poplar Bluff police: Stabbing was vendetta

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- Local authorities believe a Poplar Bluff man was carrying out a vendetta when he stabbed another man 10 to 12 times early Tuesday.

Steven Wayne Gowen is accused of stabbing Clement B. White.

"None of White's wounds were fatal. They were punctures; they did not hit any organs," said Poplar Bluff Police Detective Leigh Raymer.

White, 48, reportedly was stabbed at his residence sometime before 12:20 a.m.

Gowen, 39, of the 1200 block of Fairmount, was arrested at 5 a.m. at his residence on suspicion of first-degree assault.

Raymer said Gowen had been told by a relative that she had allegedly been raped by White. He also told Raymer he had a vendetta against White.

Gowen was released from a 120-day institutional treatment center April 22 and placed on probation through Butler County on the same date on a criminal nonsupport charge. Gowen also was placed on probation Jan. 29 in Franklin County on a charge manufacturing a controlled substance.

White was charged Friday with rape. The charge reportedly stems from an investigation by the police department into a March 25, 2007, incident.