Trial starts in 2002 killing of Wappapello store owner

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- After being sworn in Wednesday afternoon, a Butler County jury began hearing testimony in the trial of a Poplar Bluff man accused of gunning down the owner of Bud's Country Store at Wappapello, Mo.

Seven men and seven women were selected from a pool of about 70 to hear the case of Donald Ray Phillips.

Phillips, 50, is charged with second-degree murder, armed criminal action and first-degree burglary in connection with the Feb. 22, 2002, death of Gary Lee "Bud" Ayers, 52, of Wappapello.

In his opening statement, Butler County Prosecutor Kevin Barbour presented the jury with a "road map" of his evidence.

Barbour told the jurors they would hear testimony from several law enforcement officials, as well as from Phillips' two alleged accomplices -- Jason Lovell and Michael Croy -- and a former Mississippi County jail inmate, Troy Garner.

Barbour said the suspects didn't intend to kill anyone that night.

Barbour alleged they intended to burglarize the store so they could get some money. Then they were going to get anhydrous ammonia and pseudoephedrine pills so they could manufacture methamphetamine, he said.

None of Barbour's evidence would show that the suspects brought a gun with them. Because of the circumstances that arose in the store, Ayers was killed with his own gun, he said.

Phillips' attorney, Shawn Boyd, said in his opening statement that the testimony from all the law enforcement officials wouldn't "shed one bit of light on what happened."

The foundation of the state's case was based on the stories of Lovell, Croy and Garner, who are "prior felons or have pleaded guilty to felonies" in connection with the case, he said.

"There's no physical evidence connecting Mr. Phillips to this crime," Boyd said. "There is no case without those three individuals."

Barbour's first witness was Butler County deputy Eddie Redmond, who testified that he was dispatched to an alarm sounding at Bud's Country Store at 6:52 p.m. Feb. 22, 2002.

Redmond, who was in Poplar Bluff at the time, arrived about 10 minutes later and found Ayers' body.

During his testimony, Butler County evidence technician Donwell Clark identified the 12-gauge pump shotgun, .40-caliber semiautomatic pistol and a spent shell from the shotgun for the jury.

Clark said Ayers had a "large gaping wound" to the chest and the wadding material was embedded in his chest.

Based on the blood splatters, Clark estimated that Ayers, who fell backward, was shot from three to four feet away.

As Ayers fell back, his pistol discharged, firing three rounds in an arching pattern into the ceiling, Clark said.