Jackson man charged with second-degree murder in Cape stabbing

In what witnesses describe as a bar fight turned bloody, a Jackson man is facing charges of second-degree murder for allegedly fatally stabbing a father of three Friday outside a Cape Girardeau bar.

Ryan P. Harkey, 23, was still in custody Saturday night on $250,000 bond that was set by Judge Gary Kamp. Harkey also faces a charge of armed criminal action.

The victim has been identified by police and family members as Jerry "Buddy" Conrad, 25, an employee at Ole Hickory Pits.

Conrad's family members and friends said they were in shock at the news.

Ryan Harkey

"There's no getting through this," said Conrad's grandmother, Wanda Conrad. "You don't bury your kids or your grandkids."

Officers with the Cape Girardeau Police Department responded to an assault call shortly before 1 a.m. at Independence and Lorimier streets, according to the probable-cause statement. Police said it was Harkey who first called 911, saying he had just been in a fight and that he "may have possibly stabbed someone."

Patrolman Cody Farrow, left, and Sgt. Brad Smith with the Cape Girardeau police department canvass the southeast corner of the terraced hillside in front of the Common Pleas Courthouse Friday morning, Dec. 9, 2011 following an early morning fatal stabbing outside a Spanish Street bar. (Laura Simon)

An officer went to look for Harkey in that area. About the same time, the statement says, other officers were near North Spanish Street and Broadway, where they were flagged down by several people just west of Rumors Bar and Lounge.

Police found Conrad, collapsed, in the southeast corner of the Common Pleas Courthouse lawn. Conrad had been stabbed three times in the upper chest, the statement says.

Police found no pulse and administered CPR until an ambulance arrived. Conrad was pronounced dead at 1:23 a.m. at Saint Francis Medical Center.

Harkey, who has hired Cape Girardeau lawyer Malcolm Montgomery to represent him, told police he had been "kicked out" of Rumors after being in a fight with Conrad. Harkey told police, according to the statement, that he returned to Rumors 15 minutes later to pay his bar tab.

That's when he said he ran into Conrad, who happened to be leaving the bar. Conrad chased Harkey across the street, the statement says. Harkey claims Conrad and some other men started to "jump" him. Other witnesses say, however, the fight was "one on one" and no other people were involved.

Employees at Rumors told police they had seen Conrad and Harkey in a fight earlier. One employee said that Harkey had been escorted from the bar because he appeared to be the one who started the fight, the statement says. That employee also said he saw six or seven people run out of the bar later to watch a fistfight just across the street.

When the employee went out to break up the fight, Harkey ran up the hill toward the courthouse and Conrad followed him. More fighting ensued, and then witnesses reported that Conrad collapsed.

According to the statement, Harkey told police he had taken out a black, double-bladed folding knife from his pocket to defend himself. Police soon discovered a knife in Harkey's coat pocket.

"Yeah, that's the knife I was swinging wildly to defend myself," Harkey allegedly said.

Police found blood on the blade, which was confirmed by a presumptive test of the substance on the knife.

An autopsy Friday at Mineral Area Regional Hospital revealed that Conrad died from a 3 1/2-inch stab wound to the pulmonary artery, said Cape Girardeau County Coroner John Clifton. Clifton agreed that, while Conrad was pronounced dead at the hospital, he probably died on the courthouse lawn.

"A wound like that you don't usually survive long, maybe a few minutes," Clifton said.

Police were still investigating the crime Friday afternoon.

"We're trying to muddle through the evidence and see what we've got," department spokesman Darin Hickey said. "Most of our detectives are working on this case and trying to conduct it in a timely, thorough and efficient manner."

A background check of Harkey reveals a minor criminal past, including two misdemeanor charges of unlawful use of drug paraphernalia in 2007 and 2009 that landed him five days in jail for the first charge and a $200 fine for the second. In 2008, he pleaded guilty to driving while revoked.

A message left at the office of Montgomery, Harkey's lawyer, was not immediately returned Friday afternoon.

Wanda Conrad filled in a few details about her grandson, including that he had three children, a fiancee and was an employee at Ole Hickory Pits in Cape Girardeau. His children are 5 years, 3 years and 6 months old.

"He was bubbly and bouncy and caring," Wanda Conrad said of her grandson. "He had just a fantastic heart."

Conrad's co-workers at Ole Hickory Pits said Friday was a somber day at work, where most employees went home early to deal with their grief. Conrad had been a welder at the business for a year and a half.

"He was a great employee," owner David Knight said. "Everybody liked him. It's hard to put it into words when a tragedy like this happens. Our thoughts are with his family."

Shop foreman Dan Welker said the employees were "shocked, upset and in disbelief" when they heard about Conrad, who was known as Buddy to his friends. Welker described Conrad as laid-back and easy to talk to.

"If you had to spend the day with somebody, he was one of the guys you wanted to spend the day with," Welker said. "We'll have a sense of loss for some time. Everybody was Buddy's friend here."

Welker said he was especially saddened when he thought about Conrad's children.

"He's got a 5-month-old son who will never know his father," Welker said. "He's also got two other kids. It's just sorrow. Sadness."

smoyers@semissourian.com

388-3642

Pertinent address:

36 S. Spanish St., Cape Girardeau, MO

Common Pleas Courthouse, Cape Girardeau, MO