Court briefs 12/28/05

Moore waives child endangerment hearing

Cedric Moore waived his preliminary hearing on Tuesday on a felony child endangerment charge. Associate Circuit Judge Scott Thomsen set arraignment on Jan. 9 before Circuit Judge Benjamin Lewis. Moore, who lived at 215 Pearl St. with Karen Clark and their six children, was charged after social service workers and police visited Moore and Clark's home in early September. They found it filled with enormous amounts of trash and broken furniture. There was an overflowing bucket used as a toilet, holes in the floors and mice droppings near a bare mattress. Clark pleaded guilty on Dec. 5 to an original felony child endangerment charge and received five years probation by Circuit Judge William Syler.

Festus man pleads guilty to child endangerment

A Festus, Mo., man formerly of Cape Girardeau pleaded guilty on Tuesday to a reduced charge of misdemeanor child endangerment. Elvis McCline, 24, was originally charged with felony child abuse in July. According to a sworn statement with charges by Cape Girardeau detective Jim Smith, McCline's ex-girlfriend reported that he repeatedly struck the leg, buttocks and hip of her 3-year-old son, causing extreme bruising. Associate Circuit Judge Scott Thomsen sentenced McCline to two years probation on a suspended execution sentence of 60 days in jail. When Thomsen asked what the boy did to invoke the punishment, McCline said that the boy went to the bathroom on himself.

-- From wire reports