Court briefs 2/23/06

Chaffee woman reports she was raped, robbed

A 21-year-old Chaffee, Mo., woman reported she was raped and robbed at knifepoint early Wednesday morning on Cape Girardeau's south side. The alleged rape occurred in an alley near Highway 74 and Ellis Street around 5 a.m., according to police spokesman Jason Selzer. The woman was walking from her friend's home when a man approached her. She reported the man held the knife to her throat, forced her into the alley and raped her, Selzer said. He also stole cash from the victim. The man was described as about 5-feet-8-inches tall, a slim build, with a piercing on his left ear, and had been wearing a black or blue bandana and green, zippered jacket, Selzer said. No one was in custody for the attack as of 5 p.m. Wednesday.

Court date set for woman arrested on drug charges

A preliminary hearing date was scheduled Wednesday for a 31-year-old woman accused of using drugs while her children were present. Tammy Blagg was arrested Feb. 15 at 908 Withrow Drive in Oran, Mo., by the Scott County Sheriff's Emergency Response Team, a release from the sheriff's department stated. Blagg, of Oran, was charged with possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia and two counts of endangering the welfare of a child. The defendant's 14- and 15-year-old children were in the home at the time of the drug seizure, the release stated. "The tragedy here is the kids," Sheriff Rick Walter said in the release. "The adults have the choice whether or not to live this type of lifestyle, but the children are the innocent victims of this activity, and are trapped in the environment." Both children were placed under the care of relatives, and Blagg was being held in lieu of a $75,000 bond, according to the release. During a court appearance Wednesday, Associate Circuit Judge David Mann scheduled Blagg for a preliminary hearing April 19.

Woman sentenced to 120 days for crack posssession

A 36-year-old woman was sentenced to 120 days in jail for possession of crack cocaine. During a traffic stop around 1 a.m. Dec. 6 at Sprigg and Themis streets, officers found four small bags of crack cocaine in Jackee Nicholson's sock. Nicholson, of 100 S. West End Blvd., pleaded guilty last month to one count of possession of a controlled substance. On Tuesday, she was sentenced to five years' imprisonment, with 120 days of shock incarceration, according to a court clerk. Another woman arrested in the traffic stop, Dorislyn Gaines, 35, pleaded guilty to possession of a controlled substance and was given five years' probation on a suspended imposition of sentence. The women's arrest led police to a man accused of selling them the drugs, Dale J. Howard. Howard, 31, is charged with drug trafficking and is up for a case review hearing Monday at the Cape Girardeau County Courthouse.

Carnahan appoints new Missouri state librarian

Margaret Conroy was appointed Missouri's new state librarian Tueday by Secretary of State Robin Carnahan. Before accepting the position, Conroy served as the director of the Missouri River Regional Library in Jefferson City and was previously director of the Little Dixie Regional Libraries in Moberly. "I am pleased by the opportunity to serve Missourians as state librarian and to help increase access to library services across the state," said Conroy. "I look forward to working with Secretary Carnahan, Missouri's local libraries, school librarians, the academic community, and the patrons of Wolfner Library in order to help enhance our state libraries' services."

-- From staff reports