Court briefs 8/24/06

Man sentenced for having meth-making products

JONESBORO, Ill. -- An Illinois man was sentenced Tuesday to three years in prison after admitting he had acquired methamphetamine ingredients. Bryant J. Nolan, of Mill Creek, Ill., pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of methamphetamine manufacturing material. He was arrested May 19 when a security officer at a Kroger Store in Anna, Ill., saw Nolan attempting to shoplift lithium batteries, a news release from the Union County state's attorney's office. Before trying to steal the batteries, Nolan purchased cold medication containing pseudoephedrine, the release stated. Both lithium batteries and pseudoephedrine are materials used for making meth. Nolan had "frequently" purchased pseudoephedrine medications, including from two other pharmacies the same day as his arrest, the release stated. This was the first conviction in Union County under new statutes requiring pharmacies to keep logs of those purchasing pseudoephedrine.

Scott City man charged with stealing copper

A Scott City man accused of stealing copper materials from a utility company in Cape Girardeau was bound over to circuit court Wednesday. Adam J. Crigger, 28, was charged with felony second-degree burglary, stealing, property damage, resisting arrest and stealing a motor vehicle. Early July 20, police responded to AmerenUE, 1715 Independence St., for a burglary call, police spokesman Jason Selzer said at the time. While investigating the theft of copper worth more than $1,000, an officer saw Crigger in a vehicle parked near where the break-in occurred. Crigger attempted to flee but was quickly arrested. The car Crigger was in was loaded with the stolen goods, and the car itself was also reported stolen. During a brief court appearance before Associate Circuit Judge Gary A. Kamp, Crigger waived his preliminary hearing and the judge ordered him to appear in circuit court for arraignment Sept. 5.

15 charges filed against man accused of rape

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Fifteen felony charges were filed this week against a Fredericktown, Mo., man accused of raping a 12-year-old girl. Zane L. Twomey, 37, was charged Tuesday with 10 counts of statutory sodomy and five counts of statutory rape. According to the victim, Twomey had sexual intercourse and oral sex with her at her home in Perry County between May 2005 and June 2006, a probable-cause statement filed in the case read. Twomey admitted to police that he had oral sex with the girl, but said it occurred between March and June of 2006, according to the statement. The defendant was being held in lieu of a $250,000 cash-only bond.

Cape man charged with second-degree assault

A witness testified Wednesday that an acquaintance attacked him with a bat in a Cape Girardeau park earlier this summer. Stephen D. Flye, 33, of 903 S. Sprigg St., is charged with felony second-degree assault for the June 5 attack in Ranney Park. During a preliminary hearing Wednesday, Steven Warfield, 44, said he was in the park when Flye and three others got out of a vehicle and charged at him. One of the unidentified men threw Warfield to the ground, and the witness testified Flye used a wooden bat-like object to strike him several times in the body and once in the head. "He stopped hitting me once he saw he cracked my head and saw the blood coming out," Warfield said. After the attack, Flye fled the scene. Warfield went to the police department and later to a hospital where he received between eight and 12 stitches for his head wound. The attack stemmed from a quarrel Warfield had with Flye's brother-in-law in Sikeston, Mo., two weeks earlier, Warfield said. Following the Wednesday hearing, Judge Gary A. Kamp bound Flye over to circuit court for a Sept. 5 arraignment. Bond was set at $10,000 cash.

-- From staff reports