Region digest 9/20/01

Open house planned for Charleston prison

CHARLESTON, Mo. -- The Missouri Department of Corrections' Southeast Correctional Center will hold an open house from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday.

Guided tours of the maximum-security prison will be provided.

The new corrections facility, a mile south of Charleston at 300 E. Pedro Simmons Drive off Highway 105. The prison cost $72 million, will employ 445 corrections professionals and will house 1,596 male inmates.

Situated on a 120-acre site south of Charleston, the prison consists of 10 buildings, including six housing units and an administration building as well as specialized areas including medical and mental health care units; administrative segregation housing; basic academic and vocational classrooms; and a laundry and central food service.

Two suspects in armed robbery apprehended

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Two suspects are in custody in connection with a strong-armed robbery reported on Monday.

The victim, Marquitte Garner, said two men approached him at about 4:20 p.m. Monday and forcibly stole $180 from him in the 100 block of Petty Street. The victim, who was working as a door-to-door salesman in the area, reported the proceeds as funds he had made selling cleaning solutions to homeowners.

Sikeston police identified two men as suspects and arrested them shortly after the incident.

Rogeric Johnson, 19, and Albert Patterson, 42, both of Sikeston, were charged with second-degree robbery and were being held on $150,000 bond each.

-- From Southeast Missouri News reports