Poplar Bluff road superintendent suspended without pay

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- Jeremy Grable, superintendent of the Poplar Bluff Street Department, has been suspended without pay following his arrest on felony charges of first degree assault and armed criminal action.

City Manager Heath Kaplan suspended Grable's employment with the city and appointed construction supervisor Dennis Kearbey as the interim superintendent for 30 days.

Grable was arrested after the shooting of Shelia D. Hunt at his home shortly after 7 p.m. Saturday. The Poplar Buff Police Department had received a 911 call about a child custody dispute before the shooting.

Hunt was shot in the chest and underwent surgery at Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center, according to the probable-cause statement filed with the court by Missouri State Highway Patrol trooper John Lacey.

Grable, 37, of the 2200 block of Barron Road is free from custody on a $50,000 bond. Sources said Hunt remains in intensive care, but continues to improve.