Poplar Bluff man accused of shooting, killing longtime friend

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- A physical altercation apparently fueled by alcohol early Wednesday morning left a Poplar Bluff man dead and his longtime friend in jail, possibly facing charges.

"We received the original 911 call at 4:34 (a.m.), basically stating that the suspect's friend (Christopher Richards) had sustained a gunshot wound, and it was self inflicted; however, when (Matthew Coble) talked to ambulance personnel on the phone, he said it was accidental," explained Butler County Sheriff Mark Dobbs.

When deputies arrived, Dobbs said, they found Richards, 38, laying in the front yard of his residence in the 600 block of County Road 466 with an apparent gunshot wound to the head.

Emergency medical services personnel arrived and attempted to administer first aid to Richards, who was taken to Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center, Dobbs said.

"(Richards) was alive at the scene and pronounced (dead) at the hospital," said Butler County Coroner Jim Akers.

Based on his examination, Akers said, Richards' cause of death is a gunshot wound and the manner of death is homicide.

The autopsy, which was set to be performed at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday at Mineral Area Regional Medical Center in Farmington, Mo., by Dr. Russell Deidiker, is for evidence retrieval and to determine the bullet's trajectory, Akers said.

The autopsy, according to Dobbs, will determine whether the medical evidence supports the evidence from the scene, as well as statements made by Coble, who was "fully cooperative" when questioned.

"Apparently, the two shared a residence and were longtime friends," Dobbs said. "Thus far, we know there was alcohol involved (which) at some point caused a physical altercation between the two men."

Dobbs said officers believe a part of the altercation took place inside the home, but "we believe the bulk of the altercation took place outside in the yard."

Dobbs said there were no other parties involved in the altercation or witnesses that officers are aware of.

"The altercation resulted in Coble retreating to his vehicle and retrieving his firearm and shooting the victim," said Dobbs, who described the weapon as a .38-caliber handgun. The gun was recovered from Coble's vehicle.

"We don't know of anything specific that caused the alteration," Dobbs said. "We feel relatively certain the alcohol escalated the situation."

According to Dobbs, there were what he described as "signs" on Coble's body indicating there had been a physical altercation.

"At this point, we believe (Coble) may have tried to depart the residence, and the victim wasn't allowing him to leave," said Dobbs.

Those details are among what officers are trying to sort through and the facts officers are trying to gather, Dobbs said.

Specifically, he said, officers are trying to determine "what happened and how it happened and try to sort through some of the potential self-defense issues.

" ... There are several dynamics in this situation that may bring a potential self-defense question into the equation."

Dobbs said this morning wasn't the first time officers had been called to Richards' residence.

"We have responded to domestic disturbances at that location before, all the way dating back to the days I was a road officer," said Dobbs.

Officers, Dobbs said, planned to submit paperwork later Wednesday to the Butler County prosecuting attorney's office requesting potential charges related to manslaughter be filed against Coble, 41.

Pertinent address:

Poplar Bluff, MO