JOPLIN, Mo. —
A 28-year-old Joplin man pleaded guilty to a reduced charge and received probation in a case involving the alleged abuse of his girlfriend’s son at a restaurant.
Edward C. Beddingfield had been facing a felony count of child abuse for allegedly grabbing a 3-year-old boy April 6 and slinging him into a booth at a Joplin restaurant. Witnesses told police the child’s head struck the wall next to the booth and that the defendant then slapped the top of the boy’s head.
Beddingfield pleaded guilty Monday in Jasper County Circuit Court to a reduced count of misdemeanor child endangerment in a plea deal with the prosecutor’s office.
Circuit Judge David Dally accepted the plea agreement and assessed Beddingfield one year in jail, with execution of the term suspended and the defendant placed on unsupervised probation for two years. The judge also ordered that he complete a program that teaches alternatives to violence and that he have no further contact with the child.
In a separate child-endangerment case, Mark A. Lawson, 32, of Joplin, pleaded guilty to an amended charge of possession of chemicals with intent to manufacture methamphetamine. Lawson entered the plea in an agreement with the prosecutor’s office that would dismiss three other felony counts he is facing, including two other drug charges and a charge of child endangerment.
Three of the four counts against Lawson stemmed from an arrest Dec. 14 of last year when members of the Jasper County Drug Task Force allegedly found components of a meth lab in Lawson’s residence at 404 S. Park Ave. An affidavit states that there were two children living in the residence, and task force members found a plastic bottle containing layered liquids composed of acid and other toxic chemicals within reach of the children on the floor of the home.
Under terms of the plea deal, Lawson would receive no more than five years in prison. Dally ordered a sentencing-assessment report on the defendant and set his sentencing hearing for Jan. 28.
Crime & Courts
Guilty pleas entered in child abuse, endangerment cases
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Murder warrant issued in fatal domestic shooting
Police believe Doyle Handle shot himself after fatally shooting Dena Davenport during a domestic disturbance Thursday night at their residence in Grove. Officers responded to a 6:55 p.m. report of a shooting at the couple’s home on Wood Street on the southwest side of Grove and found Handle, 52, in the front yard with a gunshot wound to his jaw.
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Murder warrant issued in fatal domestic shooting
Police believe Doyle Handle shot himself after fatally shooting Dena Davenport during a domestic disturbance Thursday night at their residence in Grove.
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No charges to be filed in Joplin shooting case
The nonfatal shooting of a 25-year-old man at a Joplin residence on May 13 has been deemed justified by authorities. Jacob B. Boykin, 21, of Joplin, shot Justin S. Johnson, 25, of Carterville, once in the chest with a small-caliber handgun at 5260 E. Sunny Acres Lane.
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Alcohol cited as factor in Grand Lake boat crash that killed two college students
Alcohol was one of several factors contributing to a boating accident on Grand Lake earlier this month that claimed the lives of two college students.
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Hired hand won’t face death penalty in Vernon County murder case
The state has agreed not to seek the death penalty against Jeremy L. Maples in the murder of Belinda J. Beisly, but prosecutors have yet to take the option off the table for the victim’s husband, Bob T. Beisly II.
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Former IRS worker gets probation after guilty plea to theft of funds
Pittsburg resident and former Internal Revenue Service employee Becky L. Book received two years probation after pleading guilty earlier this year to the theft of $26,449.65 in public funds.
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Arma mother facing murder charge in sleeping baby’s death
Heather Buckalew fell asleep on a couch with her 4-month-old baby after a night last summer drinking beer with her boyfriend. The boyfriend, Donald Harvey, got up to go to work a few hours later and spotted his son, lying face down on a pillow between the back of the couch and his sleeping mother.
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Vandals cause $37,000 in damage at Joplin business
A Joplin business owner was the victim of a weekend vandalism spree that resulted in an estimated $37,000 in damages and theft, in addition to putting the company out of service for at least two days.
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Two plead guilty to post-tornado wire theft
Two defendants pleaded guilty Monday to stealing copper wire from utility poles in the wake of the May 22, 2011, tornado that struck Joplin. Timothy M. Silveria, 45, of Joplin, and Nycoa K. Kracht, 32, of Laurel, Ind., entered open pleas of guilty in Jasper County Circuit Court to felony counts of theft from a public utility.
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Firefighters douse blaze inside wall; no injuries cited
The Joplin Fire Department used thermal-imaging equipment Wednesday night to detect a hidden fire inside a residence.
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