State briefs 6/18/04

Woman, 3-year-old killed in Charleston beating

CHARLESTON, Mo. -- A 32-year-old woman and a 3-year-old child were found dead in their home at 802 South Grand St. on Thursday, the victims of an apparent homicide. A 4-year-old child at the residence was taken to a local hospital in critical condition. According to Paul Johnson, chief of the Charleston Department of Public Safety, the victims all appeared to have been beaten with a blunt object. The bodies of the dead victims will be taken to Farmington, Mo., for an autopsy. Police are withholding the identity of the victims at this time. There are at present no suspects. Charleston DPS is investigating with the assistance of the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

Police investigating use of Taser on grandmother

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Police Chief Rick Easley has ordered an investigation into an officer's use of a Taser to subdue a 66-year-old grandmother after she honked her car horn at a police cruiser in front of her house. Louise Jones was arrested Tuesday on charges of misuse of a car horn on a city street, resisting arrest and intentionally inflicting bodily harm on an officer. Her husband, Fred Jones, 74, was also arrested and charged with interfering with an arrest. Police said Louise Jones tussled with officers when they tried to give her a ticket for honking the horn. One of the officers pulled out the Taser, capable of issuing a 50,000-volt shock, and used it to stun her.

Perryville man sentenced for sodomy of young boy

The Missouri State Highway Patrol announced Wednesday that Gary Lee Ramsey, 38, pleaded guilty to a class C felony in a plea agreement and was sentenced to seven years in prison. He will serve the entire seven years. A joint investigation of the Missouri State Highway Patrol and the Perryville, Mo., police department resulted Ramsey's arrest for sodomizing a 13-year-old boy in 2003.

-- From wire reports