Trial begins in Advance murder case

Arguments began Tuesday in the case against a Dexter, Mo., man accused of facilitating a murder last year outside a restaurant in Advance, Mo.

Glen Scott Evans faces two counts of armed criminal action and one count each of first-degree murder and first-degree robbery in connection with the shooting death of Sean Crow, 34, whose body was found Feb. 20, 2013, in a truck outside a McDonald's in Advance.

Another Dexter man, Matt Cook, faces identical charges.

In his opening argument Tuesday, Stoddard County Prosecuting Attorney Russell Oliver sought to convince jurors Evans was a willing participant in a well-thought-out, "flawlessly executed" plan to kill Crow.

Oliver said Evans knew what Cook was planning when he drove Cook to Advance, dropped him off behind the restaurant and drove across the street to wait for him before taking him back to Dexter, where the two men spent the next four days drinking and having "just a good old party."

But Evans' attorney, James McClellan, told the jury the only evidence supporting that assertion is a videotaped interview with police, which he dismissed as the drunken ramblings of a frightened and heavily intoxicated man.

"He spent a great deal of time when he talked to the police. Could you tell he was intoxicated?" McClellan asked, noting Evans' slurred speech in the video clips Oliver showed as part of his opening argument.

On the video, Evans told an investigator as he was driving to Advance, Cook made statements that implied he was planning to kill Crow.

"He told me that this dude had this long time coming and said he's a biker dude that rips people off on dope deals. ... He was telling me that when I was driving to Advance," Evans said. "... He did not tell me exactly what he was going to do, but he made it sound like he was going to kill somebody."

McClellan said Cook duped Evans into giving him a ride by telling him he was down on his luck.

Evans did not believe Cook really would kill Crow, even after he returned to the car and told Evans what he had done, McClellan said.

"He said, 'Hey, man, what did you do?' He said, 'I shot him.' He said, 'Oh, no, you didn't.' He didn't believe it," McClellan said.

Oliver called eight witnesses Tuesday, including employees of McDonald's and an adjoining convenience store; Advance police chief Donnie Bohnsack; forensic pathologist Russell Deidiker; and Evans' ex-wife, Nikki Evans, who lived with Crow from November 2011 to October 2012.

None of their testimony seemed to implicate Evans, however. Instead, it focused primarily on the details surrounding the shooting itself.

Nikki Evans said she never discussed Crow with her ex-husband, from whom she has been divorced since 2007.

She said Crow once mentioned he knew Glen Scott Evans, but she did not know how well.

Most of Nikki Evans' testimony revolved around Crow's cellphone records. She said she and Crow had shared a phone plan, and after his death, she received a bill that showed between 5:45 and 7:10 p.m. the day of his death, he had received 42 text messages from a phone number registered to Cook's girlfriend.

Oliver said Cook lured Crow to the parking lot by borrowing the phone and posing as his girlfriend, with whom he suspected Crow had a relationship.

The night of the shooting, Evans passed up several opportunities to ditch Cook and contact authorities, Oliver said.

McClellan acknowledged his client should have contacted authorities once he realized what Cook had done, but fear stopped him.

Evans was concerned for the safety of his mother and girlfriend, who live in Dexter, and his daughter, who is a student at Southeast Missouri State University, McClellan said.

"He plays it cool with this guy for the next few days. He does. He doesn't know what to do," he said.

Evans did not tell his girlfriend what had happened until after Cook's arrest, McClellan said.

Testimony will continue today in the case, which is in Cape Girardeau County on a change of venue from Stoddard County.

Cook's case, which is being heard in Dunklin County, Mo., is set for trial in December.

epriddy@semissourian.com

388-3642

Pertinent address:

Advance, MO