July 25, 2014

ONE DEAD FOLLOWING CARUTHERSVILLE HOUSE FIREOne person has died following a fire Wednesday at a home in Pemiscot County.

According to authorities, Caruthersville mayor Rick Davis died in the fire Wednesday night at his home.

The cause of the fire is under investigation, but authorities believe it to be accidental. UNION PACIFIC TRAIN DERAILS IN STODDARD COUNTY Multiple freight cars on a Union Pacific train derailed early Thursday morning.

14 cars derailed shortly after 3 am Thursday morning in Stoddard County near County Road 717.

According to the Dexter Daily Statesman, there were no injuries due to the derailment and no hazardous material was spilled. MAN PLEADS GUILTY TO FRAUD CHARGES A St. Louis area man has pleaded guilty to fraud charges in connection to property in Southeast Missouri.

According to the United States Attorney’s Office, Ronald Roberts, of Town and Country, pled guilty to three felony counts of wire fraud and one felony count of mail fraud.

Roberts had allegedly solicited personal loans for a fictitious real estate transaction involving property in or around Poplar Bluff, which Roberts claimed he owned and planned to sell to Wal-Mart. Roberts had actually owned less than 10 acres of property in Neelyville.

Wal-Mart had not made any offer to purchase that property, according to the Attorney’s Office. His sentencing was set for October 16th. SCOTT CITY MAN TASED AFTER ATTEMPTING TO FLEE FROM AUTHORITIES A Scott City man is facing multiple charges following an alleged domestic assault incident.

According to Scott County Sheriff Rick Walter, 25 year old Marcus Allen Bowers was arrested Wednesday on charges of domestic assault, resisting or interfering with arrest, and unlawful use of drug paraphernalia.

A deputy had responded to a reported domestic assault at around 6:30 Wednesday night when he found the victim with a bloodshot and swollen left eye. The deputy also observed that both of Bowers’ hands were bloody, with lacerations on the knuckles.

During the investigation, Bowers allegedly attempted to flee by walking away. The deputy attempted to stop Bowers who resisted, which resulted in Bowers being tased. Bowers was arrested, and a search of his person resulted in the discovery of two pipes with residue that tested positive for marijuana. MAN TELLS POLICE THAT VEHICLE HIT HIM IN LOCAL BUSINESS PARKING LOT A man has reportedly told Poplar Bluff Police that a vehicle hit him in an area parking lot.

According to KFVS, the man said the vehicle hit at around 2:45 am Thursday in the Wal-Mart parking lot and then attempted to hit him again.

Police are investigating the incident. BRIDGE PAVEMENT REPAIRS TO BEGIN TODAY IN SCOTT COUNTY Crews with the Missouri Department of Transportation will be in Scott County beginning today for bridge pavement repairs.

The repairs are scheduled to be done daily from 6 am to 3:30 pm through Friday, August 1st.

During the repairs, North and Southbound I-55 in Scott County will be reduced to one lane, with a 12 foot width restriction at the bridges located over the US 62 and I-57 Interchanges. ARKANSAS ATTORNEY GENERAL WARNING OF CARD SCAM Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel says criminals are increasingly turning to items such as Green Dot MoneyPak cards as a means to steal.

Criminals trick consumers into believing that sweepstakes winnings await, that they can avoid jail time or they can pay their overdue utility bills with payments from these types of cards. Once criminals have the number from the back of the card, it's almost impossible for a consumer to ever recover money.

McDaniel issued a consumer alert this week to warn Arkansans about potential scams and to offer tips on how to avoid fraud when using MoneyPak or similar products.

For more information, visit the Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division website, www.GotYourBackArkansas.org, or call (800) 482-8982.

MISSOURI LOTTERY RESPONDS TO REVIEW ORDER The Missouri Lottery says a decline in the money it provided to education is due partly to the types of Lottery games people chose to play.

The amount of proceeds transferred to education declined by $21.5 million during the state's recently concluded budget year, despite record high sales by the Lottery.

Lottery spokesman Gary Gonder says the sales figures are driven partly by scratch-off games, which typically pay more in prizes and thus less to education. He says sales of the more profitable Powerball game actually were down from the 2013 budget year, which contributed to the decline in education funding.

Governor Jay Nixon has ordered a review of the Lottery's operations to determine whether it can provide a stable funding source to education.