Region/state digest 05/21/05

Three charged in Poplar Bluff killing

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- Three Poplar Bluff residents were charged Friday in connection with a killing during a drug-related robbery gone bad. Timothy D. Ready, 18, was charged with first-degree murder, first-degree burglary, attempted first-degree robbery and armed criminal action. Ronnie A. Allen, 17, and Cosby E. Lester, 25, were charged with first-degree burglary, attempted first-degree robbery, second-degree murder and armed criminal action. Butler County Prosecuting Attorney Kevin Barbour requested that all three be held without bond. According to the probable-cause affadavit of Sgt. Terry Mills of the Missouri State Highway Patrol, Ready admitted they went to the home on Price Street on Wednesday to steal drugs. During the alleged home invasion, David Gene Brannum, 43, of Harviell, Mo., was shot in the chest.

Man cut by prop after being thrown from boat

PIEDMONT, Mo. -- A Piedmont man was injured on Clearwater Lake Wednesday night after he was ejected from his boat and struck by its propeller. The accident happened at about 6:30 p.m. at Goose Creek near the Bluff View area, according to Missouri State Water patrolman David Nelson. Lori Trainer, 31, of Piedmont was operating a 13-foot bass boat with her 4-year-old daughter and Derek Tune, 26, as passengers. She let go of the handle on the outboard motor while the boat was moving, Nelson said, which caused the motor "to kick to one side and the boat to circle. When that happened, it ejected them out of the boat." As the boat was circling, Tune tried to get into the boat, Nelson said. He was cut on his left hand and his right big toe.

Jury deliberates case of student's killing

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Prosecutors on Friday asked a jury to convict a former police officer of killing a gay college student with whom he had an affair. Morley Swingle, the Cape Girardeau County prosecuting attorney, told the jury that Steven Rios, 28, killed Jesse Valencia, 23, to keep him from revealing their relationship. Rios is charged with first-degree murder and armed criminal action. Public defender Valerie Leftwich told the jury that just because the two had sex was not proof that Rios killed Valencia. The jury began deliberating shortly after 2 p.m. Friday.

Stoddard Co. 911 wins unexpected grant money

BLOOMFIELD, Mo. -- The Stoddard County 911 Board has received a grant it hadn't expected. Stoddard County 911 director Bill Pippins presented the board Thursday with a letter from the state that said Stoddard County will receive $98,798 and will have until Nov. 30 to use that money. Pippins said the money will be used for software that would put all emergency agencies in direct connection with each other. He said the software would be less time-consuming for dispatchers, who currently have to log calls they receive by hand.

Initial search finds no brake problems on bus

LIBERTY, Mo. -- A preliminary investigation has not found problems with the brakes or electrical systems of a school bus that crashed last week, killing two motorists and injuring nearly two dozen students, the National Transportation Safety Board says. NTSB investigator Gary Van Etten said that it would take a year to 18 months to complete the final report on the crash at a busy intersection north of Kansas City. Investigators have rebuilt the brake system and sent several parts from the bus to Washington for testing, including the brake and accelerator pedals and the driver's shoes, Van Etten said. The bus driver, Denise Thomas, has said she was unable to stop the bus.

KC suburb hopes levee protects economic future

RIVERSIDE, Mo. -- Twelve years after floodwaters almost drowned this small Kansas City suburb, community leaders on Friday announced the completion of a six-mile-long levee along the Missouri River. The $80 million project, an up to 25-foot high earthen berm on the river's north bank, will not only protect Riverside from 500-year floods, but will make possible a 900-acre commercial development.