Region briefs 10/25/06

Cape man charged with felony child abuse

Child abuse charges were filed Tuesday against a Cape Girardeau man suspected in injuries to a 22-month-old boy. Joshua G. Barton, 27, of 2857 Themis St., was charged with two counts of felony abuse of a child. Bond was set at $15,000 cash only. On two separate occasions this month, the defendant was placed in care of his ex-girlfriend's nearly 2-year-old son. When the woman returned after each time, she allegedly found severe bruising on her son, according to a probable-cause statement. In the first incident, which took place Oct. 7, Barton claimed that the child had fallen off a slide at a park, and a nurse who was there said the boy would be OK, the statement read. On Oct. 9, the woman found severe bruising on the child's buttocks and legs that Barton said were caused by falling off the trunk of a car, according to the statement. Cape Girardeau police detective David Estes said in the probable-cause statement that the child's injuries could not have been caused in the way Barton claimed.

Teen twins suspected in wounding of girl

SIKESTON, Mo. -- A set of teenage twins were suspected in a Sikeston shooting in which a 15-year-old girl was wounded in the foot. The shooting occurred around 11:30 p.m. Saturday, according to a Sikeston Department of Public Safety news release. A pair of 17-year-old St. Louis twins became "unruly" at a party, and one of them fired a weapon, striking the girl in the foot, police said. On Sunday, one of the twins turned himself into police and was held on a St. Louis County warrant for drug distribution. No charges had been filed in connection with the shooting as of Tuesday night.