Three local men have been arrested in connection with two Monday morning home invasions, the latter of which resulted in the death of a fourth suspect.
Joplin police Monday night disclosed the arrests of Shawn U. Hency, 37, 10331 Cedar Road, Carthage; Dakota R. Bate, 20, 319 N. Byers Ave., Joplin; and Dakota D. Pliler, 19, 3502 Ivy Lane, Joplin.
The three were arrested on suspicion of first-degree burglary and second-degree murder in connection with the death of Michael P. Dean, of rural Joplin, who police identified as the fourth suspect. Dean was fatally shot at the invasion at 1616 W. Fourth St., police said in a release. Charges have yet to be filed.
Police said the Fourth Street home invasion and an earlier one at 407 S. St. Charles Ave. were consecutive and related.
Police were called at 5:03 a.m. in reference to gunshots at 1616 W. Fourth. Dean, 32, was found dead at the scene. He died of a single gunshot wound.
Capt. Bob Higginbotham declined to say if there had been an exchange of gunfire between an occupant, or occupants, of the house and intruders.
Earlier in the day, investigators had indicated that there were multiple suspects involved in the home invasion and that they were looking for a black SUV spotted in the area, and that they were exploring a possible connection between the two break-ins. Monday night, police said the black SUV was located earlier.
Daniel Kuhns, who lives at the St. Charles Avenue address, said four men wearing bandannas and ball caps forced their way into his house and restrained his hands with zip ties shortly after he got home from work and was preparing for bed. They ended up apologizing and leaving without harming him or his family once they realized they had the wrong address, he said.
“They were looking for some equipment they said was stolen from them,” Kuhns said. “They said it was worth $215,000.”
He said one of them referred to the equipment as “a bomb,” although he does not know what the man meant by the term.
One of the men had a gun. Another was armed with a claw hammer. Kuhns said that it began to dawn on the suspects that they had the wrong house when his wife emerged from their bedroom to ask about the safety of their daughter, and he told her and the intruders that the girl remained asleep in another room.
Kuhns said the intruders began apologizing at that point and offering money for “inconveniencing” his family, although they never actually gave them any cash.
“One guy even tried to hug my wife and she was like, ‘No, get away from me,’” Kuhns said.
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