Man charged with 19 felonies in connection with Dexter burglaries

BLOOMFIELD, Mo. — A Bloomfield parolee is being held in jail without bond after being charged Friday with nearly 20 felonies in connection with recent break-ins at eight Dexter, Missouri, businesses.

Edward D. Lusk, 49, was charged with seven Class C felonies of second-degree burglary, nine Class D felonies of first-degree property damage, four Class A misdemeanors of theft/stealing, the Class D felonies of attempted burglary and resisting arrest and the Class C felony of second-degree arson by Stoddard County Prosecuting Attorney Russell Oliver.

Each of Lusk’s felony counts was enhanced because he was charged as a prior and persistent offender, having been convicted of first-degree robbery in Dunklin County in 2001 and felony theft in Cape Girardeau County in 1991.

Associate Circuit Judge Joe Satterfield ordered he be held without bond because he is a “danger to the community.”

Lusk was taken into custody about 3 p.m. Thursday at a trailer on Miller Street near downtown Dexter.

Members of the Dexter Police Department, Stoddard County Sheriff’s Department and Missouri State Highway Patrol had searched for Lusk after he was identified on surveillance video breaking into the Small Wonders Child Development Center at the First Baptist Church in Dexter.

Food products and money were stolen, Dexter police detective Cory Mills wrote in a probable-cause statement.

Lusk also is accused of damaging the day care by “urinating and defecating on the carpet and fixtures,” according to the complaint filed with the court.

Mills said Dexter officers had responded to other burglaries involving businesses “where it was believed the same suspect(s) were responsible. Two businesses — Ringer Law Firm and Dexter Automotive — were also burned.”

After Lusk was identified as the suspect, “we (had) been looking for him almost all day,” police Capt. Trevor Pulley said.

Once Lusk was arrested, he agreed to make a statement, Mills said. During the interview, Mills said, Lusk admitted he was responsible for eight burglaries.

Information from Mills’ probable-cause statement and the complaint indicate the other seven businesses burglarized were:

• El Cabrito restaurant.
• Faye’s Bakery.
• Dexter Automotive.
• Parsons Law Firm.
• Extreme Skate.
• John Ringer Law Firm.
• Battles Communication.

“Lusk stated the fires from Ringer Law Firm and Dexter Automotive were accidental from smoking,” Mills said.

Lusk also is charged with resisting arrest July 10 when officers attempted to arrest him for a parole-violation warrant.