2-vehicle crash in Midway leads to fatalities
A two-vehicle accident in Midway has led to the fatalities of two Baxter County men. According to the Arkansas State Police, 62-year-old Charles Martin was killed Saturday afternoon when his vehicle collided with another driven by 74-year-old Maurice Wood of Cotter. Wood died five days later at Mercy Hospital in Springfield
Trooper Britt Clements reports Wood was turning left out of the parking lot at Dollar General onto Highway 5 when his vehicle hit the northbound vehicle driven by Martin. Wood was initially transported to Baxter Regional Medical Center.
Martin's body was taken to Kirby and Family Funeral and Cremation Services after the two p.m. accident.
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State files answer to Roos' Rule 37 petition
The state has filed an answer to the Rule 37 Petition in which convicted killer Nicholas Ian Roos seeks post conviction relief.
Roos was sentenced to life in prison without parole on May 24th after pleading guilty to killing an elderly Midway couple, Donald and LaDonna Rice, in early November last year, robbing and burning their home.
In its answer, the state refutes the claims on which Roos bases his request for post conviction relief.
Roos claims, for example, that the attorneys appointed by the State Public Defender Commission failed to develop a defense based on mental disease and defect, despite the fact, he contends, they were aware of his history of mental health problems, delusions, hunger strikes and suicide attempts.
Roos alleges he told his attorneys he suffered from severe paranoid-schizophrenia that caused both auditory and visual hallucinations.
In the answer to Roos petition, the state argues Roos does not give information regarding who made such a diagnosis or when it was made. In the states answer, 14th Judicial District Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Chris Carter notes post conviction remedies under Rule 37 require more than bare allegations, and must be supported by facts.
The state also points out Roos does not contend in his petition he was suffering from delusions or other manifestations of his alleged mental problems on the day the crimes were committed.
At one point in the states answer, it is noted Roos diagnosis of severe paranoid-schizophrenia is apparently a self diagnosis, and in his arguments, Roos seems to confuse anti-social behavior with mental health.
In the states answer, it is also contended Roos lays out no evidence that he would meet Arkansas definition of mental disease or defect since he has none.
The state also notes Roos did not allege or even hint in his petition that he did not shoot Mr. and Mrs. Rice, and the evidence against him was overwhelming – including confessions, a co-defendant willing to testify and possession of stolen items from the Rice home.
The state refutes that Roos received ineffective counsel from the two attorneys appointed to represent him. At one point, the two attorneys from the Public Defender Commissioner are described as two of the finest death penalty-qualified attorneys in the state who have handled more than 50 capital murder cases.
Roos' claim he based his decision to plead guilty in the Rice case largely on the deficient performance and advice of his lawyers is also addressed in the states answer. The state contends in order to justify what it terms his self-serving statement, it would have to be accompanied by a claim of innocence or the articulation of a plausible defense that could have been raised at trial which Roos failed to do in his filings.
A hearing on Roos Rule 37 Petition is now set for late October. Early this month, Circuit Judge Gordon Webb appointed Mountain Home attorneys John Crain and Justin Downum to represent Roos in the Rule 37 hearing.
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Hollister man killed in shootout with officers
An officer-involved shooting led to the death of a man in Taney County. According to Springfield television station KYTV, a deputy and a woman were also suffered injuries, but they are not life-threatening.
A Missouri State Highway Patrol trooper and a Taney County deputy went to a residence on Boo Boo Boulevard in Hollister around two a.m. Friday to talk to a man allegedly involved in a chase Thursday with the Branson Police Department. A man and a woman came to the door, and as they were being questioned, the man began shooting toward the officers. They returned fire and killed the man.
It's not clear if the injuries to the woman and deputy were gunshot wounds. The trooper was not injured in the incident.
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Gassville man accused of stealing pickup truck
A Baxter County man is accused of stealing a pickup truck. According to Baxter County Sheriff John Montgomery, 52-year-old Michael Joseph Pedry of Gassville was arrested Wednesday morning on an outstanding felony bench warrant and is charged with a Class C count of Theft of Property.
The owner of a 2004 Chevrolet crew cab pickup truck reported his vehicle and a chainsaw in the truck were stolen in July, and the cumulative value of the items was $8,450. The following morning, the vehicle was located in the parking lot at Harps on the west end of the Sheid-Hopper Bypass. During the investigation, images were discovered on the store's security camera video system showing the suspect, identified as Pedry, driving the truck onto the lot, parking it and walking away.
Pedry is being held in the Baxter County Detention Center in lieu of $10,000 bond and is scheduled to appear in Baxter County Circuit Court.
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Leonard appointed Baxter County Veterans Service Officer
Baxter County Judge Mickey Pendergrass has announced the appointment of Charles Leonard, II as the new Veterans' Services Officer for Baxter County. Leonard relocated to the Twin Lakes Area over a year ago after retiring from the United States Air Force where he served for 28 years. He expressed his enthusiasm about his new position, saying helping our veterans is our number one priority.
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A graduate of the Community College of the Air Force with a degree in Logistics and the Des Moines area Community College with a degree in General Studies, Leonard served as the Chief Enlisted Manager for the Logistics Readiness Squadron; from 1999 to 2002 he was deployed to Incirlik Air Base in Turkey in support of Operation Northern Watch and in 2009 he deployed to Balad AIr Base in Iraq in Operation Iraqi Freedom. He says he has helped veterans all his life.
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District 3 Veterans Services Officer Elesha Granniss says she is looking forward to working with Leonard calling him a great asset to the veterans and eligible dependents of Baxter County. As a veteran who has served in theaters of combat, she says Leonard has the life experiences to relate to all veterans.
Pendergrass says Leonard brings a high level of professionalism and compassion for veterans to the Baxter County Veterans Service Office and he feels fortunate to have him serving in this capacity.
The Baxter County Service Office is located at 5 East 9th Street and the phone number is 425-8155.
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Local woman named Miss Arkansas following Savvy Shields crowning
When Savvy Shields was crowned Miss America the title of Miss Arkansas was given to the first runner up in the Miss Arkansas Scholarship Pageant. The new Miss Arkansas is Savannah Skidmore of Calico Rock. The 21-year-old is a senior at the University of Arkansas majoring in broadcast journalism.
Savannah is the daughter of Jerry and Kim Skidmore and granddaughter of Duane and Sue Price and Robert and Marion Skidmore, all of Calico Rock.
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Man pleads guilty to stealing from his mother, given probation
Jeremy Bell Lewandowski of Lakeview, charged with stealing a car from his mother and bringing two companions to the mother's home who took prescription drugs and a gold coin pendant belonging to the woman, plead guily to taking the car and was given five years probation during a session of Baxter County Circuit Court Thursday.
The mother said that her 38-year-old son and two of his friends from Branson arrived at her home on County Road 276 in the Lakeview area in mid-May and she allowed them to stay the night.
She said the next morning, she saw the friends — a male and female — loading their belongings in their car and she noted that they had taken a brown colored lock box that belonged to her. The box contained prescription medications and a $20 gold piece set in a gold bezel and hung on a gold chain. The piece was valued at $4,000.
The woman mentioned the incident to her son and he said he would go after the friends. Lewandowski took his mother's car, a 2012 Dodge Charger, to chase the "friends" down. The victim called the Baxter County Sheriff's Office after Lewandowski did not return with the car, nor did he contact his mother.
The two guests were later identified and the Branson Police Department and Taney County Sheriff's Office became involved. Information was provided to investigators that the couple and Lewandowski had worked at the same motel in Branson, but the manager there said he had "run them off" approximately three days before the police contacted him.
Pawnshops in the Branson-Springfield area were checked and information was developed that the male guest had sold various items, including a gold coin pendant, in two Springfield shops. He was paid almost $1,200 for the gold coin pendant, according to investigative records.
A photo of the gold coin and chain were sent to local investigators by the Springfield Pawn Shop where it was sold, and identified by the victim and other sources as the one taken from her home.
The male guest was identified as 32-year-old Brandon Mays. He was arrested and booked into the Baxter County jail on June 10th. Mays is currently free on $10,000 bond and is in a treatment center. He was ordered to re-appear in Baxter County Circuit Court September 22nd.
A warrant is outstanding for the female guest, identified as 28-year-old Star Lynn Gann.
It was announced in open court that Lewandowski is not welcome to return to his mother's home.
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