Man arrested on murder charges for alleged drug-related shooting in Poplar Bluff, Mo.

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- A Poplar Bluff man sits in jail, charged with killing another man over what authorities believe was an apparent drug debt.

Calvin L. "CC" Smith Jr., 32, of the 2200 block of Grand Avenue was charged Sunday with second-degree murder by Butler County assistant prosecuting attorney Bill Gresham.

Smith, who is being held in the Butler County jail on $500,000 bond, is charged with killing John Lee Griffin, 54, of the 300 block of County Road 314.

The complaint on file with the court alleges on July 3 Smith "knowingly caused the death of John Griffin by shooting him in the head with a pistol."

An autopsy was performed at 10 a.m. Monday by Dr. Michael Zaricor at Mineral Area Regional Medical Center in Farmington, Mo., to determine Griffin's cause of death, according to Butler County Coroner Larry Cotrell. Findings weren't available as of press time.

Deputy coroner James Akers, who assisted Cotrell in the removal of Griffin's body about 6 p.m. Saturday from a location near a residence on County Road 614, was in attendance for the autopsy, Cotrell said.

"After the recovery, Deputy Akers took the body to Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center, where the body was X-rayed," Cotrell said. "X-rays confirmed that the individual had been shot."

Authorities learned of Griffin's possible death Thursday.

Poplar Bluff police chief Danny Whiteley said officers began contacting individuals, including a man who had "given me information in the past.

"I asked him if he had heard anything about John Griffin and he said 'yes' and said Mr. Griffin had been murdered in the country, which is an area known by older folks around here as in the Morocco/Broseley area, and he had been murdered by Calvin 'CC' Smith."

Missouri State Highway Patrol Sgt. Dennis Overbey and Butler County Sheriff Mark Dobbs, according to Whiteley, went to the specific location indicated by the individual.

"A check of the residence revealed the discovery of the body at 1:35 p.m. Saturday in an abandoned outhouse behind the residence," Dobbs said.

After the discovery of Griffin's body, the Butler County/ Poplar Bluff Major Case Squad was activated.