Murder suspect told police he was high on 'bad dope'

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. — A Poplar Bluff man apparently high on what he described as “bad dope” shot and killed a driver who picked him up Tuesday morning on Highway 160.

Authorities initially thought Stahl Lee Sturgeon, 50, of Doniphan, Missouri, had been shot inside his Toyota Camry on the Wal-Mart Supercenter parking lot in Poplar Bluff, but as officers pieced together witness statements, they learned the shooting happened on U.S. 67.

Joseph Wade Wisdom, 33, was arrested after officers found him lying prone inside Wal-Mart’s entry doors.

Wisdom, who was charged Tuesday with second-degree murder, is being held in the Butler County Jail on $250,000 cash bond.

Officers said Wisdom struggled with Sturgeon inside the car, shot him, then drove himself to Wal-Mart on Sturgeon’s lap. Officers found Sturgeon wearing his seat belt and slumped over in the driver’s seat.

Wisdom’s stepfather called the Butler County Sheriff’s Department at 6:52 a.m. Tuesday, reporting Wisdom — “under the influence of a narcotic” — had jumped out of his vehicle on the way to rehab and was running down Highway 160, chief deputy Brian Evans said.

About 7 a.m., the department began receiving 911 calls about a man knocking on doors at homes near Highway 160, saying, “They’ve got guns, and they’re trying to kill me,” Evans said.

One of the 911 calls was from Wisdom, who was saying “something about people trying to kill him,” Evans said.

Sgt. Brandon Lowe said he interviewed a motorist who came up behind Sturgeon’s car as it was stopped in the middle of the road.

“There was a white male wearing a long-sleeved purple shirt, pants and bald-headed, standing at the passenger-side window talking to the driver,” Lowe said. “He said after a few seconds, the suspect got in the passenger seat, and they took off toward (U.S.) 67.”

The motorist followed the car, Lowe said.

On County Road 323, the motorist “said the two of them appeared to start fistfighting inside the vehicle,” Lowe said. “He said the car stops in the middle of the road, and the back window blows out like it had been shot.”

As the motorist drove around the car, the suspect fired two or three shots at his truck and then passed him at a high rate of speed, Lowe said.

Other motorists in the area reported seeing Wisdom pointing a gun at them or firing at Sturgeon’s car.

At Wal-Mart, Poplar Bluff police detective Josh Stewart said, Wisdom removed his shirt and lay on the floor “so everyone could see he was unarmed.”

As officers restrained Wisdom, he said: “‘He shot me; he shot my finger,’” Stewart said. “... ‘He’s in the car; he shot me first.’”

Wisdom told police he had been using methamphetamine and “had not slept in some time,” Stewart said. “(A man) gave him some ‘bad dope’ (Monday).”

Stewart said Wisdom told officers his girlfriend had taken him Monday to his mother and stepfather’s residence at Fairdealing, Missouri, where he said his stepfather and another relative told him someone wanted to kill him.

“(Tuesday) morning, Wisdom left with (his stepfather) to check into a rehab facility,” Stewart said. “On the way, (his stepfather) pulled a gun out.”

Wisdom told officers he jumped out of his stepfather’s truck as it was moving and ran to a house, where a woman would not let him in.

“Wisdom ran to the highway and flagged down a passing vehicle,” Stewart said. “Wisdom was relieved that this driver was not trying to kill him. Wisdom called the police department and asked for help. (Sturgeon) reacted to this and tried to pull over.”

Wisdom said he told Sturgeon not to pull over until “they reached a location with other people. (Sturgeon) reached into the center console and pulled out a gun,” Stewart said.

He said Wisdom and Sturgeon fought over the gun, which went off, injuring Wisdom’s hand.

Wisdom was unsure whether Sturgeon had more than one gun, Stewart said.

“Wisdom stepped out of the vehicle and noticed that another car had stopped,” Stewart said. “He fired at this vehicle in an effort to keep them away.”

Stewart said Wisdom went to the driver’s door and tried to pull Sturgeon out of the car.

“He was not able to do so due to (Sturgeon) being belted in,” Stewart said. “Wisdom sat in the driver’s lap and drove away. He planned to drive to the police department, but went to Wal-Mart instead.”

Wisdom’s girlfriend told officers he had been “out of his mind” the day before the shooting, Lowe said, “making comments about her killing him or having him killed” and punching her in the face.

Wisdom was on parole after pleading guilty to second-degree domestic assault in Butler County. He was sentenced to five years in the Missouri Department of Corrections after his probation was revoked in May 2012. According to a probation and parole official, he was released July 13, 2015.

Wisdom was scheduled for arraignment today.

Pertinent address:

Poplar Bluff, Mo.