Poplar Bluff man wanted in connection to two home invasions

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- Police were searching Friday for a Poplar Bluff man after two early morning home invasions in Butler County, Mo., left two people shot by what is believed to be an SKS rifle and a third person assaulted.

Two children who live in the residence east of Rombauer, Mo., were unharmed, according to authorities.

Rodney Joe Green, 40, is sought on suspicion of first-degree assault with a firearm. He is considered armed and unstable, according to Butler County Sheriff Mark Dobbs. He was last seen driving a 1997 gold Ford F-150.

Green, who authorities said has a criminal history, was released Tuesday from the Stoddard County Jail on a $20,000 bond on a warrant for first-degree tampering with a motor vehicle.

A man and a woman who were shot around 2:30 a.m. were taken by helicopter to a hospital. Their injuries did not appear to be life-threatening, Dobbs said. The man was shot in the leg and the woman was shot in the hand. A second man was assaulted at a different location but did not seek medical treatment.

Dobbs said Green didn't know the couple.

Dobbs said the couple saw a gun after opening the front door for Green. They shut the door on the suspect, but he fired through it three times.

Two children in the home at the time have been released to other family members.

Authorities said Green then stole a red Dodge Dakota and drove to the home of a relative on County Road 6263, northwest of Fisk, Mo.

After assaulting a man there, Dobbs said, Green took a wallet and the Ford F-150.

Green's previous charges were more related to drugs and stealing than crimes of a violent nature, said Dobbs, who is seeking warrants expected to include several felony charges.

Pertinent address:

Poplar Bluff, Mo.

Rombauer, Mo.

Fisk, Mo.