Region briefs 11/16/06

Trial date set for man accused of slashing

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- A Butler County judge set a February trial date for a Clubb, Mo., man accused of slashing the throats of a 22-year-old man and a 12-year-old boy while high on methamphetamine. James W. Leach faces multiple felony counts of assault, armed criminal action and stealing a motor vehicle in the Nov. 5, 2005, assault. The attack took place in rural Bollinger County and was moved to Poplar Bluff on a change of venue. Circuit Judge Mark Richardson set the trial date during a hearing on Tuesday.

Perry County man faces assault charges

A Perry County man accused of attacking his ex-girlfriend will appear in circuit court for arraignment today. Todd C. Payne waived his preliminary hearing Tuesday on felony charges of armed criminal action, two counts of unlawful use of a weapon, assault, resisting arrest, felonious restraint and transfer of a concealable weapon without a permit. Payne was arrested in early October after Perry County sheriff's deputies interviewed a 24-year-old woman being treated at a local hospital for a cut on her forehead. She told deputies that Payne attacked her on a rural Perry County road after a quarrel during which he threatened her with a handgun.

Two Marble Hill youths injured in wreck

A 16-year-old Marble Hill youth and his 12-year-old brother suffered moderate injuries Tuesday evening in a one-car accident on Route H north of Zalma, Mo., the Missouri State Highway Patrol reported. Casey D. Sitze, 16, was driving north when he lost control of his vehicle and it slid off the roadway, striking a telephone junction box and two trees, the patrol reported. Casey and Austin Sitze, 12, were taken by ambulance to Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau for treatment. No citations were issued.

Bonne Terre man hurt in accident

A Bonne Terre, Mo., resident received moderate injuries Monday afternoon when his vehicle left the roadway and overturned on a rural Perry County road, the Missouri State Highway Patrol reported. James T. Koeller, 21, was driving westbound on Route K about a half mile west of Route B when he went off the right side of the road, overcompensated and steered his 2005 GMC C5500 off the left side of the road where it hit a ditch, overturned and struck a fence before coming to rest upside down. Koeller was taken to Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau for treatment.

-- From staff reports