Major case squad goes 5-for-5 in homicide-case arrests

Cape Girardeau has seen five homicides in 2016.

The Cape Girardeau/Bollinger County Major Case Squad has made arrests in all of them.

By the time officers got to a homicide scene at 4 p.m. May 19, the body had been in a wooded area southeast of Ranney Park for more than four days, according to court documents.

What investigators did not know is one of the people allegedly involved in the homicide had tossed the pistol used to kill Domorlo Morris McCaster, 28, of Cape Girardeau in the Mississippi River, according to testimony from Rodney Smith, 28, of Cape Girardeau.

The gold GMC Envoy where McCaster was shot in the back of the head had been cleaned hastily and driven into a different state, according to a probable-cause statement filed in the case by Cape Girardeau Police Lt. Don Perry.

The work of major case squad investigators, their skill in acquiring evidence and help from the community members led to the May 27 arrest of Malcolm U. Harris, 24, of Cape Girardeau.

Those factors led to arrests in all the squad's homicide investigations in 2016.

"We're 5-for-5," Cape Girardeau County Prosecuting Attorney Chris Limbaugh said. "You can't do better than that."

Harris was charged with first-degree murder for shooting McCaster along with armed criminal action, unlawful possession of a firearm and tampering with physical evidence.

"Since the creation of the major case squad, we've had a lot of success with catching bad guys and figuring out who did it," Limbaugh said. "You have men and women working around the clock, tracking down every lead that we get. I've seen them in action, and they're impressive."

In the McCaster investigation, the major case squad received information about the whereabouts of Smith, Terrell Hunt and Clarissa Simpson, 29, of Cape Girardeau.

Smith and Hunt testified they were in the Envoy when Harris shot McCaster. Smith, Simpson and Shanieka Robinson, 28, of Sikeston, Missouri, later were charged with tampering with physical evidence related to the case.

"I get the feeling that people are opening up all over," said Felice Roberson, founder of the Stop Needless Acts of Violence Please group. "I'm glad people aren't feeling like they're snitching."

A person of interest came forward in the investigation of the death of Willie Brown Jr., 30, of Cape Girardeau after he was identified by police.

Several unnamed witnesses were listed in the Brown case. Cape Girardeau police arrested Tyyeema Cleaves, 23, of Cape Girardeau. Limbaugh charged Cleaves with second-degree murder, first-degree robbery and armed criminal action.

Cleaves told police she set up a drug deal between Brown and a 16-year-old boy, according to a probable-cause statement filed by detective Jeff Bonham.

The plan was for the teenager to rob Brown after she bought the pills, Bonham wrote.

The 16-year-old has not yet been certified as an adult.

"Securing arrests on these homicides is evidence that when working together as a community, we can take dangerous offenders off the streets," said Cape Girardeau police chief Wes Blair.

"We are fortunate to have a major case squad with extremely talented and dedicated investigators from all the involved agencies," Blair said. "It is amazing to see them function as a team."

Andrel Dolpin Jr., 17, of Cape Girardeau was shot and killed May 19 as Jonas M. Phillips, 27, of Charleston, Missouri, and Daniel Venable and Lizzy Culbertson, both of Sikeston, were leaving Dolpin's apartment at 235 N. Lorimier St.

Police interviewed Venable and Culbertson, according to a probable-cause statement Bonham filed in the case.

Dolpin left the building, chasing after Venable, but turned around and ran when Phillips began firing shots, Bonham wrote.

One bullet hit Dolpin in the upper back; he later died from his injuries at a Cape Girardeau hospital.

Phillips was arrested May 21 and charged with second-degree murder.

Investigators collected stories from the neighbors of Airious Darling, 28, of Cape Girardeau to discover Darling was shot and killed March 31 in a case of mistaken identity.

Darling was at the home of Corey Gilbert, dropping off Gilbert's 1-year-old child, when Tavious Tipler, 18, of Cape Girardeau shot Darling, according to a probable-cause statement filed in the case by Cpl. J.A. Lacey of the Cape Girardeau Police Department.

Tipler was arrested April 2 and charged with first-degree murder.

Gilbert was the victim of a robbery perpetrated in part by Tipler in January, Lacey wrote. Gilbert had confronted Tipler on the street about a month before Darling was shot, according to the statement.

"No stone is left unturned," Limbaugh said of major case squad investigators.

Investigators said they talked to Richard L. Jenkins, 30, and Laterrius Triplett, 22, both of Cape Girardeau, who later were charged with involuntary manslaughter in the shooting death of Brent Shonta Johnson, 30, of Cape Girardeau.

Triplett tried to take Jenkins' gun, a struggle ensued, and a shot was fired, striking Johnson in the chest, according to a probable-cause statement Bonham filed in the case.

The men blamed each other for the shooting, Bonham wrote.

"They were all friends," said Roberson, the SNAP founder. "It's how they compensate when they're angry and upset: They pull a gun. ... We can disagree. Just because I don't agree doesn't mean I have to die."

Blair said the department making arrests shows community cooperation can lead to a resolution of gun crimes.

Roberson has spent time counseling mothers of these homicides, and she said they experience closure when there is an arrest.

She hopes she can experience that same sense of closure.

Roberson still is waiting for an arrest in the homicide investigation for her son Quinton Combs, 25, of Cape Girardeau, who was shot to death in November.

"I was shocked when it happened to me," Roberson said. "I never thought in a million years ... ."

bkleine@semissourian.com

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Pertinent address: 1213 S. Ellis St., Cape Girardeau, MO