Victim may have been shot for playing music too loud

Federal, state leaders salute Joplin’s recovery

A deadly May twister may have punched a hole in Joplin and Duquesne two years ago, but the resolve to repair it will help other communities stand strong when they face similar disasters. That was the message of state and national diginitaries to a crowd of about 2,500 who observed the second anniversary of Joplin’s devastating May 22, 2011, storm during a ceremony Wednesday in Cunningham Park.

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July 16, 2012

Victim may have been shot for playing music too loud

Anonymous From staff reports The Joplin Globe Mon Jul 16, 2012, 12:32 PM CDT

JOPLIN, Mo. — Keith Ritchey reportedly told a witness that his neighbor Kevin Cassell came out of his house and shot him in the face because Cassell felt he was playing music too loud.

Ritchey, 23, is in critical condition at Freeman Hospital West from a mouth wound suffered shortly after 1 p.m. Sunday in a shooting on South Connor Avenue. Cassell, 50, who lives at 725 S. Connor Ave., was taken into custody a short time later.

A .357-caliber handgun loaded with .38-caliber bullets and a loaded .22-caliber rifle were recovered in a neighbor’s yard, according to a probable-cause affidavit. The affidavit indicates that police suspect Cassell tossed the guns over a fence into the neighbor’s yard following the shooting.

Cassell was charged today with first-degree assault, armed criminal action and unlawful use of a weapon. His bond has been set at $50,000.

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