Arraignment held for suspects in slaying of rural Jackson man

Southeast Missourian

JACKSON, Mo. - Two suspects in the shooting death of a rural Jackson man were arraigned Monday afternoon in Cape Girardeau County Associate Circuit Court on charges of first-degree murder and kidnapping.

Cape Girardeau residents Mark A. Gill, 31, and Justin M. Brown, 22, are accused of killing Ralph L. Lape, 54, by shooting him in the head.

Associate Circuit Judge Gary Kamp set preliminary hearings for the men for Aug. 30 at 10 a.m.

Both men will be represented in court by the public defender's office.

According to police reports, the duo entered Lape's home in rural Cape Girardeau County on July 8 and forced him into his pickup truck. He was later shot and buried in a shallow grave near Portageville, Mo.

Investigators with Cape Girardeau County's Major Case Squad followed the trail of Lape's bank debit card, which Gill allegedly used until he was arrested in Santa Rosa, N.M.

Brown remains in custody in lieu of $2 million bond. Gill sits in jail with a bond of $5 million. He is also charged with two counts of fraudulent use of a debit device, armed criminal action and tampering with a motor vehicle.