Arrest warrants issued for pair from Arkansas

MINER, Mo. -- Warrants have been issued for the arrest of two Arkansas residents in connection with a July 28 theft of a tractor-trailer truck loaded with 7,500 gallons of anhydrous ammonia, an ingredient used to make methamphetamine.

Richard L. Holeman, 37, of Jonesboro, Ark., and Johnnie R. Morrissette, 26, of Monette, Ark., have been charged with receiving stolen property, felony stealing, attempting to manufacture a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia and two counts of possession of chemicals, said Scott County Sheriff Bill Ferrell.

Morrissette is being held in an Arkansas jail on drug-related charges, police said. Holeman is a fugitive, wanted on charges in Arkansas as well as Missouri.

On July 28, a tractor-trailer truck pulling the ammonia was stolen from Breeden Transportation in Miner, Mo. Another tractor-trailer truck was stolen June 5.

The first tractor-trailer truck was recovered in Cardwell, Mo.; the second was found in Pocahontas, Ark., police said.

Ferrell said the couple was also charged regarding a stolen Pontiac Trans Am from Salem, Ill. The car was recovered in Miner on Aug. 11. Investigators found stolen property in the car from the second tractor-trailer rig, including the key to the tractor-trailer truck.