Springfield Police Department

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- A robber stole money from a Bank of America branch on Thursday morning.  The bank is at 2633 College Street. The man approached a teller and demanded money around 11 a.m.  The teller gave the man some money and he fled east from the bank on foot. Anyone with information about the robbery can call the Springfield Police Department at (417) 864-1810 or the FBI at (417) 882-3303 or (816) 512-8200.  The man is described as white, 5-foot-7 to 5-foot-9, 170 to 180 pounds, medium build, in his mid- to late 50s, with a mustache and a three- to four-day-old beard with blond/gray hair.  He was wearing a dark blue zip-up sweatshirt with a hood, a gray T-shirt, blue jeans and an orange baseball-style cap.  

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Law enforcement officers are looking for the man who robbed a Bank of America branch on Kearney Street at Grant Avenue on Thursday afternoon.  The FBI says the robber walked up to the teller counter and showed a note demanding money. The teller gave him some cash and he walked out, headed west. A security camera got a photo of the robber.  The FBI says he is white, in his 50s, around 6 feet tall, and likely weighs between 225 and 250 pounds.  Anyone with information about the robber can call the Springfield Police Department at (417)

SPRINGFIELD -- In an effort to curb dangerous driving, the Springfield Police Department and the Missouri Highway Patrol teamed up on Friday to conduct another "Operation Safe Ride. " Law enforcers targeted traffic violators who pose a threat to motorcyclists. Officers concentrated on hazardous moving violations such as speeding, running red lights, and driving carelessly. Out of the 55 vehicles stopped, 41 citations and 34 warnings were issued. In addition to drivers receiving moving violation tickets, two people were arrested on outstanding misdemeanor warrants, one person was arrested on an outstanding felony warrant, and three people were cited for having open containers of alcohol in a moving vehicle.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo.-- An elderly man who was hit by a car in downtown Springfield has passed away. The incident happened back in January. The victim had some major injuries. The family of George Earl Wilson, 70, says Wilson died on Friday. Wilson was walking in downtown Springfield at the intersection of Market and Walnut.  A vehicle hit him, breaking several bones from his shoulder down to his ankle. Wilson was also suffering from other health problems, like Parkinson's and diabetes.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- City police on Feb. 8 busted what they believe was a highly organized prostitution ring in a historic building downtown.  Officers arrested and released four people but no charges had been filed by Monday. Police say prostitutes were working on the third floor of the Landmark Building on Jefferson Avenue at Olive Street.  They applied for and got search warrants for three rooms.  Documents at the Greene County Circuit Clerk’s Office show officers seized computers, telephones, money and what they described as items used as gratification for people patronizing prostitution.

Springfield, Mo. -- An overnight meth lab bust lasted for hours in the 1600 block of West Lombard in central Springfield Sunday, and the neighbor who called the cops says she's glad she did. Police got to the vacant house just after six o'clock Sunday evening after a concerned neighbor called in suspicious activity at the house. "It was just the police on the megaphone saying come out and follow the procedure, and they just kept repeating it," said Fran Seufert. People who live near the hosue said police were there until after two o'clock in the morning.  Police said the first person in the house came out right after they got there, but it took much longer to get the second person inside to surrender.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - A man from Springfield received a 17-year prison sentence on Friday for sexually abusing his girlfriend's daughter.   David Besaw Jr., 28, subjected the victim to oral and anal intercourse for several years. Prosecutors say the victim made a delayed disclosure because she had been warned by Besaw not to tell. The victim finally told authorities at her school because the rest of her family was going on a long-term vacation and she was going to be left alone with Besaw for that entire time.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Crime Stoppers and the Springfield Police Department ask for help identifying the man who robbed a Rapid Robert's store at 1655 S. Kansas Expressway on March 10 at 10:23 p.m. The robber showed a small black handgun and demanded money from the clerk. No photos or video is available. The robber is described as black, 5-feet to 5-feet-5 and around 130 pounds.  He was wearing sunglasses, gloves, a dark hooded sweatshirt, dark colored pants, and a white mask over the lower half of his face.  A silver colored Taurus was seen leaving the area soon after the robbery but police don't know if it's related to the robbery.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Crime Stoppers and the Springfield Police Department ask for help in identifying the person in these photographs.  Springfield Police are investigating a shooting in the parking lot of Pony Club, 1750 S. Glenstone Ave., on Oct. 31, 2012.  The person pictured is a person of interest and the investigation is still ongoing. If you were in the area of this incident and saw any suspicious people or vehicles at these times, or if you know the shooters, you can call Crime Stoppers at (417)

SPRINGFIELD, Mo--One man is dead and another is behind bars following a stabbing in north Springfield.  It happened around 9 Sunday night in the 2600 block of East Division near Cedarbrook.      Police say the 47-year-old victim was stabbed in the chest and lying in the street when they arrived.  He was rushed to the hospital where he later died.      Investigators say the violence was triggered by an ongoing dispute between the two men. “An initial investigation shows they were fighting over expenses, that's what we're hearing,” said Lieutenant Robert Pitts of the Springfield Police Department.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - Eleven hours after being asked to do a welfare check at a Springfield home, police were still on the scene investigating where one person was discovered dead earlier Monday. Officers will only confirm that one person has been found dead at the home in the 1700 block of south Fremont Avenue, but they haven't ruled out the possibility that there may be more than one body inside the house. By early evening, someone had placed a single basket of roses near the scene; the home remained cordoned off with crime scene tape.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - Area residents are being advised not to purchase books from a young woman who says she is representing the Ozarks Technical Community College's Culinary Arts program. The woman was reported Tuesday, July 24, to be going “door-to-door” to area homes and trying to sell books for OTC's Culinary Arts program. The woman claims to be raising money for a trip with the OTC Culinary Arts program. Earlier this year, an individual was attempting to sell magazine subscriptions in a similar scam.

The Greene County Prosecuting Attorney's Office has filed 1 st Degree Assault charges against a 22-year old Ash Grove man. William Lee Smith is wanted by Springfield Police for an assault that has left a 33-year old Springfield man in critical condition. The assault occurred Saturday afternoon in the 2100 block of N. Kansas Avenue. Police have alleged that Smith struck the victim with his vehicle and then fled the scene. The incident is related to a domestic disturbance in Ash Grove that occurred on Saturday.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Greene County prosecutors charged a man from Ash Grove with running down and critically injuring another man on Saturday in Springfield.  William Smith, 22, is charged with first-degree assault, and appears to be hiding from law enforcement officers.  Jeremy Strahle, whom Smith hit, is in critical condition with life threatening injuries. The incidents that led up to the assault started Saturday afternoon in Ash Grove as a fight between Smith and his wife at their home on Moonlight Valley Drive.  Investigators say Cheyenne Smith called her mother, Vicki Stevens, to come and take her to Springfield.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- There were four murders in Springfield in the last week, and police have yet to make arrests or name suspects for two of them.  Police also will not say whether they have zeroed in on any people of interest. "They are at large, if you will, since we haven't got a suspect arrested or identified yet," said Maj. Kirk Manlove, commander of the Springfield Police Department's investigators. Manlove said two teams of investigators are working the city's two unsolved murder cases:  the killing of Robert Pugh, 44, at his home on West Latoka Street and the woman yet to be identified whose body was found in a trash can behind a home on West Edgewood Street.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Springfield police say a death investigation that started on Sunday afternoon is now a homicide investigation.  Police believe the death of Robert Pugh, 44, was neither self-inflicted nor accidental. Police got a request to check on Pugh's well-being about 5:30 p.m. Sunday.   They found his body in his home at 2824 W. Latoka St.  Pugh lived there for several years. "He helped my husband and me during the big ice storm in '07," said next door neighbor J.D. Crawford of Pugh.  "He ran an extension cord from his generator so that we had lights.  He was a nice guy, a helpful guy.  It's sad what happened to him. " An officer at the scene told a reporter about 8 p.m. Sunday that police didn't have any reason to believe it wasn't a suicide or natural death.  Detectives spent the night processing possible evidence in the home, and Cpl. Matt Brown said early Monday afternoon that they had changed their focus to a homicide investigation.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo.-- On Friday night, July 6 , 2012, the Springfield Police Department focused extra enforcement efforts on impaired driving by conducting a sobriety checkpoint in the 700 block of east Elm St. in central Springfield.   (edited news release) A total of 201 cars passed through the checkpoint and 11 people were arrested for impaired driving, all impaired by alcohol.  In addition SPD made one arrest for Possession of Narcotics, one arrest for Obstructing a Police Officer by Fleeing (on foot)

SPRINGFIELD -- Thieves recently targeted a building in northeast Springfield, swiping copper and leaving behind a lot of damage. It happened at 2503 N Neergard Avenue early Saturday morning. The building houses several businesses and is owned by Davis Properties. The suspects stole four air conditioners including a 10-ton unit.  They also cut the lines around the building's perimeter and damaged 8 other units. "We're looking between $10,000 to $20,000 worth of damage," said Bryan Cruse, the property manager for Davis Properties.

Springfield, Mo. -- Independence Day festivities are set for Wednesday night in Downtown Springfield.  This year marks the second year for the citywide fireworks display at Hammons Field. "With the addition of the baseball game and people just getting to know the event, we think we'll probably have 15,000 to 20,000 thousand (people) this year," said Sara Hough, one of the event planners, who works with the Urban Districts Alliance. Some downtown businesses will be closed for the holiday, but others are positioning themselves to take advantage of the massive influx of people.