OzarksFirst is keeping track of criminal cases our team covers across the Ozarks throughout 2022. This story will be updated regularly as we learn more about these cases.
March 9, 2022
Gage Bittner and Teresa Ireland were charged in connection with the death of a man in Seymour in March. Bittner was charged with Second-Degree Murder and Armed Criminal Action. Ireland was charged with Hindering Prosecution.
March 28, 2022
Nikki Goodchild was found dead at her home in Texas County when her children returned home from school on March 28. Joshua Goodchild, the victim’s brother-in-law was charged with First-Degree Murder, Armed Criminal Action, First-Degree Burglary, and Unlawful Use of a Weapon.
April 5, 2022
A grand jury indicted Damian Henry in the shooting death of James VIneyard. Henry is charged with Armed Criminal Action and First-Degree Murder. According to court documents, Henry told officers that he shot Vineyard because Vineyard was fighting with another man and pulled a knife on him.
April 9, 2022
Deputies in Pulaski County rescued 11 dogs from a home in Dixon on April 9. The dogs were malnourished and neglected. No charges have been filed in this case.
April 9, 2022
Timothy J. Stokes was charged in the death of his father in Humansville in April. Court documents accuse Stokes of causing his father’s death by striking him. Stokes is charged with First-Degree Murder.
April 16, 2022
Dillion Thomas Drake Bacon was charged with first-degree murder and armed criminal action in connection to the death of Megan Bailey Nicole Glasser. Glasser was found with a gunshot wound to the head in Laclede County. Bacon told authorities he and Glasser had an argument before the shooting, according to the PC statement.
April 19, 2022
Jacob Hearne is charged with First-Degree Murder, First-Degree Arson and Abandonment of a Corpse in connection with the death of 62-year-old Phyllis Schweinel, his grandmother.
April 22, 2022
Prosecutors in Wright County have charged Trebor Hailey with Felony Armed Criminal Action and Felony First-Degree Assault after a man was stabbed Friday, April 22. A K9 officer from the Wright County Sheriff’s Office helped track Hailey down.
May 1, 2022
Mushroom Hunters found a body in a well in Dallas County on May 1. The Sheriff’s Office has asked anyone with information about the situation to call them.
May 6, 2022
Rhonda Sprague was charged with eight counts including assault and weapons charges after a shooting that left two people hurt. Court documents said Sprague shot at her son’s girlfriend, and several other people.
May 8, 2022
On Sunday, May 8, Pulaski County Deputies were called to check on a woman after someone asked authorities to check on her. They found the woman dead in the home. A man who deputies said was a person of interest was found dead in South Carolina. Investigators with Fort Leonard Wood will be handling the case.
May 28, 2022
Matthew Dedmon was charged in connection with the shooting death of Joe Newburn. Newburn was found shot in the road on West Church Street in Ozark. He died at the hospital. Police said Dedmon shot Newburn because he was having an affair with Dedmon’s wife.
May 29, 2022
Ozark Police said a man was shot at a holiday gathering on May 29. Investigators said the man who was shot had a weapon and began threatening people at the home on Prairie Ridge Road. No one has been arrested.
June 1, 2022
Nick Owens, of Sparta, Missouri is accused of shooting and killing Zachary Owens at a property on State Highway B in Mansfield. Nick Owens is charged with first-degree murder and armed criminal action.
June 3, 2022
Three inmates escaped from the Bary County Jail on June 3. By June 14, Christopher Blevins, Lance Stephens and Matthew Crawford were all back in custody.
June 13, 2022
According to Ozark County deputies, Brian Dunaway told them he was trying to break up a fight between the man who was shot and his girlfriend when the man charged at him and Dunaway shot him. Dunaway is charged with second-degree murder.
June 14, 2022
The Aurora-Marionville Police Department said a man called his neighbor and asked them to call 911. When police arrived at the home of 74-year-old John Proudfoot and 67-year-old Lowona Kay Proudfoot, officers found the couple dead. The Police Chief said the couple was well-liked and that their deaths would be a shock to the community.
July 19, 2022
According to court documents, Blake Kent Beckelman accidentally shot Laterrian Jarman at a house near Rogersville. Beckelman is charged with second-degree involuntary manslaughter in connection with Jarman’s death.
August 22, 2022
Douglas Wayne Billingsley, 66, and Michael Douglas Billingsley, 37, were both arrested related to the death of resident Vanessa Lee Bradfield. Court documents stated that Michael Billingsley and Bradfield were fighting and it turned physical, and Billingsley hit Brandfield, knocking her to the ground. Michael Billingsley was charged with first-degree involuntary manslaughter and abandonment of a corpse. Billingsley’s father, Douglas Billingsley, was charged with tampering with evidence in a felony proceeding.
August 30, 2022
Camden County Deputies said Jordan Jones hit and killed Michael Varney with a pickup truck after the two had an argument. Deputies are searching for Jones.
August 31, 2022
Police said Kevin Ash called officers after he shot his step-brother Bobby Langston after an argument with family members. Court documents stated Ash played police a recording of the argument he captured on his phone. Ash is charged with two felonies: second-degree murder and armed criminal action.
September 24, 2022
A man and woman are dead after an officer-involved shooting in Ozark. The two suspects involved in this incident have been identified as Timothy W. Shafer, 37, and Donna M. Bailey, 23. Authorities said the incident began when officers tried to pull over a car. Eventually, that led to a chase and when the Shafer wasn’t compliant, officers from several agencies opened fire.
September 26, 2022
Laclede County deputies said a woman was released from prison, involved in a deadly crash, and then her body was abandoned. Hope Arnold’s body was found on Sept. 26. Investigators said she was in a car with Robert Nyman when she died. Nyman has been charged with leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death.
October 7, 2022
The FBI executed search warrants at a home in Warsaw after a tip about threatening TikTok videos led agents to Bryan Perry and Jonathan O’Dell. Records from the FBI accuse Perry and O’Dell of posting videos on social media about shooting immigrants, and they accuse Perry of making threats against the government. The FBI also said Perry admitted to shooting at FBI agents when they executed the search warrant.
