Tuesday June 6, 2017
MAN DIES FROM INJURIES RECEIVED IN FIRE IN POPLAR BLUFFA man has died from injuries he received in a fire at a Poplar Bluff residence.
Detective Joey Woodruff with the Poplar Bluff Police Department says the fire occurred at an apartment on Poplar Street Sunday night and appears to have been set intentionally.
JOEY WOODRUFF:
On Sunday night, Patrolman Lemonds responded to an address in the 700 block of Poplar Street to assist the fire department with a structure fire.
At Patrolman Lemonds’ arrival, he observed the front porch of the residence completely engulfed in flames. Lemonds found a man sitting in a second story window of the apartment. The man was able to jump to safety and advised Patrolman Lemonds there was possibly still someone inside the residence.
Firefighters with the Poplar Bluff Fire Department located another man inside the residence during a search of the building. The individual inside the residence was located in the ground level of the apartment. The man was transported to Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center Emergency Room for treatment.
Members of the Poplar Bluff Police Department’s criminal investigations division along with the Missouri State Fire Marshal’s Office determined the fire had been intentionally set and they are currently investigating the incident further.
Anyone with information regarding this incident is urged to contact the Poplar Bluff Police Department at 785-5776.
Butler County Coroner Andy Moore tells KWOC News that the man found in the home died on Monday. He has been identified as 57 year old Tommy E. Younger, of Poplar Bluff.
Moore says that an autopsy has been scheduled for Wednesday afternoon.
POPLAR BLUFF MAN IN CUSTODY FOLLOWING THE DEATH OF HIS GRANDFATHER IN A POPLAR BLUFF FIRE A Poplar Bluff man is in custody on murder and arson charges following the death of the man’s grandfather in a house fire over the weekend.
Investigator Brandon Lowe with the Butler County Sheriff’s Office tells us more about the incident.
BRANDON LOWE:
On Sunday morning at around 3:30 a.m. the Butler County Fire Department was dispatched to 150 Mozart Lane in regards to a house fire. Once they arrived on scene there was three subjects that were transported by ambulance to North Campus ER. Once the fire department and the fire marshal begin investigating the fire it was discovered that the residence had been intentionally set on fire, at which time, I investigator Brandon Lowe, was called out to the scene and begin investigating further. Once on scene I made contact with the fire marshal who advised me that the fire had been intentionally set in different locations inside the residence. After leaving the scene I responded to North Campus ER to speak with the subjects. Once at the ER I was advised that a male subject identified as 29 year old white male Brett Payne, from Poplar Bluff, had left. At which time we were able to obtain an address for Mr. Payne, we went, made contact with him. During the course of the interview with Mr. Payne, it was discovered that Edward James, a 66 year old white male, from Poplar Bluff, who had been transported to North Campus ER had succumbed to injuries sustained during the house fire. At that point Mr. Payne was placed under arrest. Mr. Payne is currently incarcerated in the Butler County Jail on the charges of murder first, arson first, with a bond of $250,000 cash only. The third subject that had been transported to north campus from the residence was later released from the hospital. An autopsy on Edward James will be conducted on Wednesday morning.
POPLAR BLUFF WOMAN’S TRIAL ON MURDER AND ELDER ABUSE CHARGES PUSHED TO AUGUST The preliminary trial for a Poplar Bluff woman on charges of murder and elderly abuse has been pushed to August.
According to the Butler County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, the trial for Judy Smothers had been set for yesterday but is now scheduled for August 21st.
Smothers is facing felony charges of 2nd degree murder and 2nd degree elder abuse in connection to the death of her mother Theresa Smothers who died of neglect, malnourishment, and dehydration late last year.
The case will be heard by Judge Thomas Swindle.
POPLAR BLUFF MAN SENTENCED TO 10 YEARS IN PRISON FOR CHILD PORNOGRAPHY A Poplar Bluff man has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for child pornography.
KWOC News spoke with Detective Joey Woodruff with the Poplar Bluff Police Department who said that the investigation into the case began in October of 2016.
JOEY WOODRUFF:
On October 6th, 2016, an investigation was opened after Detectives with the Southeast Missouri Cyber Crimes Task Force at the Poplar Bluff Police Department received a cyber tip report from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children reporting a Facebook account had uploaded one image of confirmed child pornography to his account.
The account holder was identified as fifty year old Leslie Bryan Clark of Poplar Bluff.
On October 7th, 2016, Officers with the Poplar Bluff Police Department made contact with Clark at his residence in the 700 Block of North Riverview in Poplar Bluff. Digital Items were seized and forensic examinations were performed by the Southeast Missouri Cyber Crimes Task Force laboratory.
During the examinations, several hundred images and videos of confirmed child pornography were discovered on Clark’s electronic devices. Clark admitted to actively downloading child pornography from the internet and provided detectives with numerous websites in which he obtained the contraband.
On November 9th, 2016, Leslie Bryan Clark was arrested on a federal indictment issued by the Eastern District of Missouri United States District Court in Cape Girardeau, Missouri.
On April 12th, 2017, Leslie Bryan Clark was sentenced to 120 months in the Federal Bureau of Prisons followed by 15 years of supervised release.
ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS TO HOLD INFORMATIONAL MEETING TODAY The United States Army Corps of Engineers at Wappapello Lake will be holding two informational meetings today to discuss the recovery and reopening of facilities that were affected by the near record reservoir levels.
The meetings will be held today at 10 am and 2 pm at the Bill Emerson Memorial Visitor Center in Wappapello. A third meeting is scheduled for today at 7 pm at the Greenville City Hall.
Personnel from the Wappapello Lake Management Office and the St. Louis District Office will present a formal talk on the 2017 events and will be available to answer questions and receive input from the public regarding upstream and downstream issues and the reopening of campgrounds and recreation facilities.
FEMA TEAMS IN CARTER COUNTY Teams with the Federal Emergency Management Agency have come to Southeast Missouri.
According to the Carter County Emergency Management Agency, FEMA representatives assigned to Disaster Survivor Assistance teams arrived in Carter County Monday to begin helping individuals apply for assistance.
Disaster Survivor Assistance representatives can be identified by FEMA photo identification badges.
Teams have also gone to Ripley County.
Anyone affected by the storms and in one of the declared counties can still register for assistance by going online to DisasterAssistance.gov or by calling 1-800-621-FEMA (3362) between 6 am and 10 pm.