Man pleads not guilty to 1982 Cape Girardeau robbery

A man facing trial on a cold-case rape charge pleaded not guilty to a robbery charge Monday. Charles Eugene O'Howell, 50, on Feb. 10, 1982, broke into a Cape Girardeau home and stole $50 from the resident at gunpoint, according to a warrant for his arrest. He is scheduled for a hearing in the case on Oct. 9. O'Howell is also scheduled on the same day for a pretrial conference on the rape charge. His trial on the rape charge is scheduled for Oct. 30. Last July, he was charged with raping a then-31-year-old woman in 1981 after prosecutors said DNA evidence connected him to the crime. In 2011, investigators questioned O'Howell at the Northeast Correctional Center in Bowling Green, Mo., where he is serving a 55-year sentence for raping a 15-year-old girl. O'Howell admitted to the burglary, according to a probable-cause statement.