Three charged with assault after leaving alleged victim at Kennett hospital

KENNETT, Mo. -- A 24-year-old man was treated for serious head wounds after he was beaten and dropped off at the hospital by two of his alleged attackers.

According to Kennett assistant police chief Steve Williams, police were called to Twin Rivers Regional Medical Center's emergency room at 9:30 a.m. Saturday to investigate an assault.

Williams said Christopher Laster suffered severe head injuries from being hit and kicked numerous times. Investigating officers were told that Laster had been dropped off at the hospital by "friends" who supposedly found him lying outside some apartments on Astrachan Street.

According to police, the same men who claimed to be Laster's friends when bringing him to the hospital are the ones actually responsible for the beating. Investigators say that they even attempted to cover up the assault by cleaning Laster up before dropping him off at the hospital for treatment.

Three men -- Malcom Jay Bevell, 21, Joshua A. Morris, 26, and Cody Ryan Roberts, 21 -- have been arrested and charged with first-degree assault. A fourth man, Darius Desmond Thomas, 21, is still being sought.

Roberts has a history of assault on his criminal record. According to court documents, the 21-year-old was previously charged with second-degree assault stemming from an incident in November. He posted a $10,000 bond. A jury trial had been set in this case for Feb. 10. His current bond, following the alleged beating of Laster, has been set at $75,000 cash-only. Roberts remains in custody at the Dunklin County Justice Center, in lieu of this bond.

Morris is on probation in connection with a separate case of resisting or interfering with an arrest, according to the prosecutor's office. That charge stems from an incident in 2011. Morris is being held at the County Justice Center on a separate bond amount of $75,000 cash-only for his alleged role in Laster's beating.

Bevell is also being held on a $75,000 bond at the county jail in connection with the current charges. In 2009, he received a suspended imposition of sentence when he pleaded guilty to a felony charge of felonious restraint. Court records indicate that he was placed on probation for three years following this incident.

Thomas, 21, shows no past criminal record in Dunklin County court records. He will face a $75,000 cash-only bond per Judge John C. Spielman, who determined bond amounts for each of the four men.

Pertinent address:

Kennett, MO