The Joplin Globe
PINEVILLE, MO. —
A McDonald County jury acquitted Brian Clapper on all counts today after less than two hours of deliberation.
Clapper had been charged with first-degree murder in the shooting of John Bevill Jr., 34, Bentonville, Ark., and first-degree assault for the wounding of Kendrick Long, 23, of Rogers Ark. He also faced two counts of armed criminal action.
The defense argued that Clapper, 32, Bentonville, Ark., had acted in defense of his girlfriend, Karis Cunigan, and himself when the shootings took place the night of Sept. 23, 2011.
A former girlfriend of Bevill, Cunigan was trying to retrieve her possessions from his home near Washburn.
