Tag Archives: Crime

Human remains identified in Colorado as former Joplin resident

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KSNF/KODE — Officials confirm skeletal remains found in Colorado are those of a former Joplin man, who went missing back in 2021.

Here is a link to our previous coverage of this case.

Hikers in Colorado discovered the remains on September 25th of last year in the area of Middle Mountain Road in Pagosa Springs.

The “Pagosa Springs Police Department” announced Friday the remains were officially identified as 42-year-old Michael Kroll.

Authorities list Kroll as a Joplin resident, but say he had been in the Pagosa Springs area shortly before he was reported missing on October 19, 2021.

The case remains an active and ongoing investigation.

Convicted kidnapper killed in his prison cell

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LANSING, Kans. — A man convicted of aggravated kidnapping in Neosho County in 2005 is dead after investigators say he was attacked and strangled in his prison cell.

Gary Raburn, KDOC

Guards found Gary Raburn, 62, unresponsive in his cell at Lansing Correctional Facility, Friday night after his 25-year-old cellmate summoned them. Officials say they attempted life-saving measures, but Raburn died. Prison officials said it appeared Raburn was attacked and strangled.

The Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI) is charged with investigating suspicious deaths within the Kansas prison system. Investigators with the KBI say they have a suspect but are awaiting autopsy results before filing charges.

Raburn was released from prison in 2013 after serving eight years for an aggravated kidnapping charge. Prosecutors originally charged Raburn in June 2004 with rape, aggravated kidnapping, and assault on a law enforcement officer. He was convicted and sentenced in October 2005.

Raburn was sent back to prison several times and absconded from authorities in 2019. You can read his criminal history by searching the Kansas Department of Corrections website, here.

Afton woman sentenced to 15 years for beating her toddler

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JAY, Okla. – An Afton woman pleaded guilty to child neglect involving the beating of her daughter that left the girl’s eye swollen shut.

Tabetha Townsend, 26, and Chandler Blackwell, 26, were charged in Jan. 2020 in Delaware County District Court with child neglect for the beating of Townsend’s 21-month-old daughter.

 

Tabetha Townsend
Delaware County Sheriff’s Department
Chandler Blackwell
Oklahoma Department of Corrections

A judge sentenced Townsend to 15 years in prison with the provision that part of her sentence could be suspended if she completes a substance abuse treatment program.  

According to the arrest affidavit, the toddler’s head and face were swollen causing “her left ear to be downward placed and her left eye to be swollen shut.”  

Officers also noted the child had bruising on her eye and right forehead, along with several small, faint, blue bruises on her foot, thighs and upper back.

The child was admitted to St. Francis Hospital in Tulsa.

The judge also gave Blackwell a 15-year sentence, with similar provisions – that the balance of his sentence be suspended after he completes a residential treatment plan, obtain his GED, and completes parenting classes. 

The Oklahoma Department of Corrections website shows Blackwell remains incarcerated.  

One person dead in New Year's Day shooting

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OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. — One man is dead and several others were shot just hours after ringing in the new year.

The Oklahoma City Police Department said the shooting happened in a parking lot just south of Interstate 40, near downtown OKC. Multiple police units responded to the call.

| Christmas House Fire In Central Oklahoma Kills One >

OKC Police said that a man died at the scene and medics rushed at least three other victims to the hospital.

KOCO 5 reported three other people were shot. Their conditions are unknown at this time.

As of New Year’s Day, Police had not located the suspect in the shooting. An investigation is still ongoing.

Kansas City, Kansas, police shoot, kill man who allegedly stole police cruiser

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KANSAS CITY, Kan. — A man is dead Friday after stealing a Kansas City, Kansas, police vehicle and pointing a gun at officers, according to police.

The shooting happened near 95th and Parallel Parkway around 8 a.m.

A Kansas City, Missouri, police spokesperson said a KCK officer responded to a call regarding a disabled vehicle near 92nd and Parallel. Investigators said the vehicle appeared abandoned when the officer arrived.

Then a man appeared and pointed a gun at the officer, who took cover, according to investigators. Now investigators are looking into if the situation was a set-up.

The suspect got into the officer’s police cruiser and took off, police said. The officer called for backup. The man only made it a few blocks before stepping out of the squad car about five blocks away where other officers had arrived.

“The same individual got out of the vehicle, pointed a gun at the officers, and at that point gunfire was exchanged. Multiple officers fired,” KCK Police Chief Karl Oakman said.

The suspect was pronounced dead at the scene. The man’s identity has not yet been released. So far investigators have only said the person is an adult man.

No officers were injured in the shooting.

The Kansas City, Missouri, Police Department said it is handling the investigation, at the request of KCK Police.

KCMO police couldn’t confirm if the man fired any shots and wouldn’t speculate if the disabled vehicle was a setup.

“You know, that certainly could be what happened. Since it’s preliminary, it’s at the very beginning stages. We’re working to determine that,” Capt. Leslie Foreman, a KCPD spokesperson, said.

Neighbor Cynthia Park lives in the path of the brief pursuit.

“Because I’m in my house doing my thing and I hear the sirens, not thinking about it,” Park said. “And then I go, ‘Maybe I need to start thinking about this.'”

She said Parallel Parkway has become busier in the 30 years she’s lived in the area, adding growth around the Legends has led to strange behavior in this specific spot.

“Especially getting this close to home, it is scary. And we have people that stop in our driveway all the time needing help. And you get scared to open your door to those people cause you don’t know if they’re going to shoot you or what,” Park said.

“I had one stand here the other day wanting a cigarette — no cars around, nothing — wanted a cigarette. I’m there holding a ball bat in my hand because I don’t know who she is.”

El Dorado man arrested in Nevada home invasion case

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VERNON COUNTY, Mo. — An El Dorado man who police said burglarized a home and stole property is now in custody.

The incident took place on December 21st when a 911 call came in for a home intruder with a gun west of Nevada. Before deputies with the Vernon County Sheriff’s Office could arrive however, the suspect left.

Detectives with VCSO developed a person-of-interest from a previous crime at the same residence. That led them to an El Dorado Springs home on December 22nd where authorities surrounded the home, and executed a search warrant. The sheriff’s office says Tommy J. Toothaker, 39, surrendered and was promptly arrested.

Inside the home detectives say they found the stolen items and a gun believed to have been used during the crime. Toothaker remains in the Vernon County Jail on no bond and faces the following charges:

  • Armed Criminal Action
  • Robbery – 1st Degree
  • Burglary – 1st Degree
  • Unlawful Possession of a Firearm
  • Stealing – All Other
  • Stealing – Motor Vehicle

Suspected tire thieves caught in Pittsburg burglary

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PITTSBURG, Kans. — Police arrested two women in connection to a string of tire thefts from a home in Pittsburg Thursday morning.

Officers with the Pittsburg Police Department visited a home in the 1700 block of S. Walnut St. after a call for a burglary in progress. The caller said he spotted two thieves inside his carport stealing tires.

Surveillance footage from the property owner showed the crime he’d just reported, plus another theft from Wednesday night. The video showed two suspects arrive to the carport in a Buick and steal from the carport.

Carrie Kay Devore (Courtesy: Crawford County Sheriff’s Office)
Kandice Jean Devore (Courtesy: Crawford County Sheriff’s Office)

The duo’s Buick was a match to the one seen in the surveillance footage hours prior. They were also still wearing the same clothes, police said.

Shortly after the burglary report Thursday morning, police said they spotted a 2000 Buick Regal with two women inside. They were stopped and identified as 43-year-old Carrie Kay Devore and 41-year-old Kandice Jean Devore, both of Pittsburg.

Carrie and Kandice Devore were placed under arrest and taken to the Crawford County Jail. They were booked on one count of burglary of a non-dwelling and misdemeanor theft. Both are being held without bond.

Police say the victim’s stolen tires were found on a different property nearby and returned.

12 pounds of meth uncovered in Kansas bust

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ODIN, Kan. (KSNW) — A large stash of drugs has been found, and two people are in custody after a bust in Barton County.

The sheriff’s office says around 11 a.m. Tuesday, deputies executed a search warrant near NE 140 Road and 80th Avenue west of Odin in the northeast part of the county.

Inside the home, they say they found more than 12 pounds of suspected methamphetamine, a pound of marijuana, a half pound of suspected Psilocybin mushrooms, and prescription medications.

The Barton County Sheriff’s Office says the drugs have a potential street value of over $200,000. Deputies also found a GMC truck stolen out of Wichita, a John Deere riding lawnmower stolen in Barber County, and several guns.

Deputies booked a 41-year-old and a 42-year-old into jail on suspicion of numerous charges. The sheriff’s office is still investigating and expects to arrest more people.

The Kansas Bureau of Investigation and the Great Bend Police Department are assisting in the investigation.

Missouri men sentenced in catalytic converter theft ring

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SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) — Three Missouri men have been sentenced for their roles in the theft of tens of thousands of stolen catalytic converters, which were taken to an Arkansas business as part of a multi-million-dollar scheme.

Evan Marshall, 25, and Camren Joseph Davis, 25, both of Rogersville; and Cody Ryder, 31, of Springfield were sentenced Monday, federal prosecutors said.

Marshall, who was sentenced to five years and 10 months in prison, was the ringleader of the theft ring, according to court records. The court also imposed a $750,000 money judgment to be forfeited to the government and ordered Marshall to pay $19,133 in restitution to victims of the conspiracy who law enforcement were able to identify.

Marshall was also ordered to forfeit the following items to the government that were seized by officers:

  • 33 rifles,
  • 20 scopes,
  • six shotguns,
  • 26 handguns,
  • a Glock sub conversion kit,
  • eight ammunition magazines,
  • a 2011 Ram 3500 one-ton pickup,
  • a 2004 Dodge Ram,
  • a flatbed trailer,
  • two 42-foot gooseneck flatbed trailers,
  • a 16-foot livestock trailer,
  • a 2021 Load N Go utility trailer,
  • a 2007 car hauler trailer,
  • a Volkswagen dune buggy,
  • two Harley Davidson motorcycles,
  • a 2012 Keystone 5th wheel camper,
  • a Caterpillar skid steer,
  • a 2019 Honda Talon SXS 1000 side by side,
  • a 2016 Polaris RZR side by side,
  • a Polaris Ranger 4×4, 
  • and 191 catalytic converters.

In June, Marshall pleaded guilty transporting stolen property across state lines.

The theft of catalytic converters has soared across the country because they contain valuable precious metal.

Prosecutors said Marshall took the stolen emission control devices, valued at $1 million or more, to the business in Arkansas. He also bought stolen devices from his co-defendants and others he recruited for another $1 million.

Ryder was sentenced to two years and five months and Davis was sentenced to five years of probation.

Co-defendants Enx Khoshaba, 30, Leslie Ice, 38, and Eric Kaltenbach, 38, all of Springfield, and Danielle Ice, 34, of Columbia (formerly of Springfield), have pleaded guilty to their roles in the conspiracy to transport stolen property across state lines and await sentencing.

Jay woman gets deferred sentence in teen overdose case

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JAY, Okla. – A Jay woman pleaded guilty to a charge of child neglect, admitting she waited 17 hours to seek medical help after her boyfriend’s teenage son overdosed on Xanax.

Stephanie Nicole Detring, 32, was charged in August 2021 in Delaware County District Court. At her plea hearing on Tuesday, Detring was ordered to serve six weekends in the Delaware County jail but did receive six months credit for time served in another case.

The teen’s father, Jason Scott Beckman, 45, of Grove, was also charged with child neglect, but prosecutors later dismissed the charge.

The couple told law enforcement multiple stories about the day Beckman’s then 15-year-old son, consumed 10 Xanax pills rendering him unresponsive, and why they waited 17 hours before calling emergency personnel.

Sheriff’s deputies and police believe the teen took the medication on Jan. 3, 2020, around 10 p.m.  The teen began throwing up and later became unresponsive prompting the couple to give him a cold bath and Benadryl to try and wake him.  Grove police and Delaware County Sheriff’s deputies arrived at Beckman’s residence around 5 p.m. on Jan. 4, 2020, after the teen became unresponsive.  

In one version of the incident the couple told law enforcement, Beckman said he discovered the pills missing between 6 and 7 a.m. on Jan. 4, 2020, and he believed his son took the medication the previous day. Detring said they waited to call 911 because she thought the teenager “would sleep it off” and was acting fine that day. Detring told police she then threw the pill bottle away.

Later that day Beckman tried to take his son home from the hospital, but a physician refused, saying the teen needed medical attention. The hospital advised Beckman the teen needed to be transported to St. Francis Hospital in Tulsa, but Beckman refused “the child being transported for unknown reasons.” But, after talking to a Department of Human Services worker, Beckman consented to have his son flown by helicopter to St. Francis Hospital, according to a probable cause affidavit.

Officials say Beckman later revised his story again, telling hospital staff the teen had taken the medication around 12 p.m.

In another story given to police, the couple said the teen had taken the pills the night before and they each said they had thrown away the pill bottle before going to bed around 10 p.m., the affidavit states. 

The teen began throwing up around 11 p.m. and Beckman thought he was sick and thought “he could just sleep it off,” the affidavit states.  The teen woke up around 6 or 7 a.m. and was fine, the affidavit states.

A couple of hours later, the teen became unresponsive but breathing so the couple “gave him a cold bath to wake him up” and Benadryl. Around 4:30 p.m. the teen was not any better so they threw the pill bottle away and called 911, the affidavit states.   

The pill bottle was located in a green trash dumpster east of the residence with its label removed.