Inquest clears man in shooting death

Cleo Johns won't face a homicide charge in the death of his best friend, Winford S. Griffith, but the Cape Girardeau county prosecutor hasn't decided whether the 64-year-old will face weapons charges.

Griffith died March 15, shortly after an armed confrontation with Johns in Ed's Bar on Good Hope Street.

The man whose shot killed Griffith testified that they had been friends since the last half of eighth grade at May Greene School some 50 years ago.

Both carried the nickname "Sonny," had been through two divorces and liked guns. They ate breakfast together a few times a week and went target shooting together.

Johns told a coroner's jury Friday that Griffith was "just like my brother."

But on the morning of March 15, Griffith walked into Ed's Bar with a .22-caliber Ruger in his hand, having already fired 10 rounds at two other friends, including one into the back of Mary Boitnott's head.

Johns, who was expecting trouble, was armed and ready for him.

17-minute verdict

The jury Friday ruled justifiable homicide after 17 witnesses testified at an inquest called by Cape Girardeau County Coroner Mike Hurst.

The three-man, three-woman jury took just 17 minutes to render a verdict.

Johns, who had been stoic throughout the day's testimonies, was overwhelmed by emotion after the verdict and was quickly escorted from the courtroom by family.

Griffith's family didn't comment on the verdict, but said in a written statement they "will not forget the good that he has done prior to the incident leading to his death."

The statement expressed "regret for the circumstances that led to this tragedy that has affected so many people. We continue to offer our thoughts and prayers to the Boitnott family. May God look over them."

Witnesses testifying ranged from bar patrons who described Griffith entering the bar with gun in hand to crime lab technicians who talked about shell casings and ricochet marks.

The jury heard from Deanna Keller, a woman who told Griffith on March 14 to stay away from her home in Fruitland, Mo., unless her husband was home.

She said her friend Boitnott had asked her if she were having an affair with "Griff," and Keller wanted to avoid more rumors.

Keller said on the day of his death Griffith broke into her home and pointed a gun in her face. He fired one shot in the house as she fled.

When she fled in his truck, "he shot at me all the way up the lane," Keller said.

Barely missed

Detective Eric Friederich with the Cape Girardeau County Sheriff's Department testified that Keller narrowly missed being shot. He said one bullet traveled through the passenger window and in front of the driver's chest before lodging in the left side of the dashboard.

Deputies found eight shell casings on the lawn and another shell in Keller's home. All came from Griffith's pistol.

They originally searched Keller's home, thinking Griffith might still be inside, but soon discovered the keys were missing from Keller's purse.

Griffith, driving Keller's red pickup truck, had made his way back to Star Vue mobile home park at 1927 N. Kingshighway, where he lived on a lot near Robert and Mary Boitnott.

Robert Boitnott testified that he was in the living room when he heard his wife's yell, followed by a gunshot. When he got to the hallway, he saw Griffith by the back door.

"I said, 'Griff, you better not have hurt Mary" and he said 'I killed her dead,'" Robert Boitnott said.

Critical condition

After testifying, Boitnott returned to St. Francis Medical Center, where his wife remains in critical condition with a gunshot wound to her head.

At this point, since Cape Girardeau police had not yet learned about the incident in Fruitland, they were searching for Griffith's quarter-ton pickup truck.

When information about Griffith driving Keller's pickup sounded over the police scanner, Cape Girardeau patrolman Mark Wyatt had just finished escorting a funeral to St. Mary's Cathedral.

As he drove south on Frederick toward Good Hope, an intersection near Ed's Bar, he spotted Keller's truck. He called for backup when he saw Griffith get out of the truck and head into the bar.

He was getting his shotgun out of the trunk when he heard the shots inside.

Warning call

Johns testified that Mary Boitnott had called him the day before the shooting to warn him Griffith was angry because Johns had revealed that Griffith was dating another woman.

Johns got his gun out and took it with him when he went out to supper March 14.

He said he purchased the .38-caliber Colt Pony Pocket Light about two years ago when he was a store manager at Shooters, a local gun store, and thought the state was about to legalize concealed weapons.

He said he sat at home all night March 14 with the pistol in his lap, expecting a visit from Griffith.

In an earlier police statement, Johns said he expected Griffith's temper to blow over without incident.

The next morning, he took his gun to breakfast, then went to the bar, hoping to see Boitnott and ask if Griffith had calmed down yet. Boitnott is a part-time bartender at Ed's and also plays pool there with friends.

Once there, bartender Wanda Blankenship told Johns that Griffith had shot Boitnott. She had confirmed the news by calling and talking to Robert Boitnott as he was talking to police.

Johns, Blankenship and two others testified that they listened to the police scanner and learned that Griffith was outside the bar about a minute before he walked in.

Another man, Kenny Tollison, was in the bar playing a video game.

Johns testified that he moved to the end of the bar, away from the others, and saw Griffith's gun when he glanced over his shoulder. He pulled his own gun when the two were standing about 7 or 8 feet apart, he said.

He drew his gun and warned Griffith to leave.

"He said 'Go ahead and shoot me,'" Johns said.

When Griffith raised his own gun, Johns said he emptied his gun, firing seven times. He said he felt a bullet pass his right cheek and thought Griffith fired several shots.

Griffith's one shot

Crime scene technicians said Griffith only fired once. One of Johns' shots hit Griffith in his gun hand, removing part of a finger and rendering the gun useless.

Cape Girardeau County Prosecuting Attorney Morley Swingle said he agrees with the jury's verdict about what took place in Ed's Bar last week.

The prosecutor said he probably won't come to a decision about charging Johns with weapons violations until the middle of next week, and that he'd spend the weekend studying gun laws.

Possible charges may include carrying a concealed weapon, a misdemeanor, and carrying a weapon into a public assemblage, a felony.

abuchanan@semissourian.com

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