Armed criminal action charge dropped against Lamb in Lawless case

A suspect in the 1992 Mischelle Lawless murder case has had one of the charges against him dropped.

Special prosecutor Allen Moss has dropped the charge of armed criminal action against Leon Lamb on Thursday, Feb. 20.

Lawless was killed Nov. 8, 1992, at the Interstate 55 exit ramp near Benton in Scott County. She was found shot three times. An assault occurred outside of the car about 100 feet down the exit embankment, where blood had pooled in the grass.

She was a nursing student at Southeast Missouri State University and a waitress at Shoney’s in Sikeston.

Lamb was her ex-boyfriend. He is the last person known to have seen Lawless alive. He has told investigators that the night her her murder, Lawless stopped at his house and they had sex before she left to go home.

Moss is representing the State of Missouri in the prosecution. He filed the Nolle Prosequi (Latin for "to be unwilling to prosecute") on the count of armed criminal action followed by Lamb's attorney Russell Oliver filing a motion to dismiss the charge.

Oliver states in the motion to dismiss that Missouri case law clearly states that the prosecution of the felony of armed criminal action is limited to three years.

"Armed criminal action is an unclassified code felony and cannot be designated a class A felony," Oliver states in the motion to dismiss.

Lamb is set for a hearing regarding a bond reduction at 10 a.m. Monday, Feb. 24, at the Scott County Courthouse in Benton.