Stories from Sunday, May 14, 2023

A statue in Margaret Harwell Art Museum’s Scuplture Garden was found in pieces on Sunday morning. Museum Director Steve Whitworth said the sculpture, known as “The Driftwood Mule,” was “knocked down, dragged to the neighbors yard, the head destroyed and scattered all over the grounds.”...

A verbal dispute in the Walmart parking lot escalated into a non-lethal shooting Saturday night. Lt. Josh Stewart with the Poplar Bluff Police Department said the shooting occurred around 10 p.m. May 13. It began as an argument between two brothers in the parking lot of Walmart Supercenter, 333 S. Westwood Blvd. The dispute escalated until one brother — identified as Rodger Rice, 39, of Poplar Bluff — allegedly shot the other in the leg and fled the scene...

Poplar Bluff Police Billy Swanson, 47, of Poplar Bluff was taken into custody at 12:50 p.m. Sunday, May 14, at his residence in the 1900 block of North Fifth Street. Swanson was booked on multiple Poplar Bluff municipal warrants, including failure to appear on two counts of shoplifting and a traffic offense. He was later released on bond...

Butler County Sheriff Cody Dillon Buffington, 24 of Poplar Bluff, was booked Friday, May 12, at the Butler County jail for violation of probation or parole with no bond. _ Heaven Lee Louise Heron, 25, of Poplar Bluff was booked Saturday, May 13, at the Butler County jail for failure to appear on stealing, leased or rented property. The bond was set at $1,000 cash only...