Construction site assault leads to arrest

Scott County sheriff's deputies arrested Clyde R. Staples, 37, of Berryman, Mo., Friday afternoon after he allegedly attacked a construction site worker near Benton, Mo., and left him seriously injured.

Staples was charged with second-degree assault and armed criminal action. Bond was set at $150,000.

Investigators say Staples allegedly went to the commercial construction site, east of Benton, and questioned workers about non-union labor being used there.

Staples reportedly had a conversation with construction worker Douglas J. Brucker, 51, of New Hamburg, Mo.. During the conversation, Staples allegedly knocked Brucker to the ground and repeatedly kicked him in the head and face with steel-toed boots, investigators said.

The suspect fled when other workers came to assist Brucker. Investigators do not believe the men knew one another prior to their conversation. Deputies arrested Staples a short time later in Miner.

Brucker was transported to a Cape Girardeau hospital. He was conscious and able to talk to investigators but was "pretty banged up," said Cape Girardeau police Capt. Jerry Bledsoe.