Thief

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- A thief stole thousands of dollars worth of donated baby items for expectant mothers in crisis, and it happened in broad daylight.  The Pregnancy Care Center on East Primrose Street is a place where expectant mothers in crisis come for help.  "Healthy pregnancy classes, relationship classes, budgeting, all kinds of great things to help a young woman move up from a crisis to being in control of her life and planning for...

SPRINGFIELD, --  A suspected thief is dead and a detective is recovering from an early-morning shooting. It all happened Near Grand and Clifton in Springfield. Officer Travis Wilson was grazed in his lower back with a bullet. He was just one of the many officers setting up a search warrant. They believe the suspect stole a truck, wrecked it, then walked to the home. Thanks to the recent ice storm, police could follow the suspect's shoe tracks from the truck to the home. Police say the suspect was involved with a string of burglaries starting at a car lot off Chestnut Expressway.

FORSYTH, Mo. -- A man from Springfield is being treated for serious injuries after crashing a car during a chase in Taney County early Thursday.  The sheriff says officers tried to pull over Shannon Watts, 26, in Branson because the 2009 Toyota Corolla that he was driving was reported stolen in Nixa. The chase reached speeds in excess of 100 miles per hour before coming to an end on Missouri 76 about five miles east of Taneyville.  The Missouri State Highway Patrol says the car ran off the right side of the road, hit a fence and flipped, throwing Watts from the car.  An air ambulance took Watts to a hospital in Springfield.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - Edward John Maher, arrested while living in Ozark in February on weapons and fraud charges, is now in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement after a motion was filed in federal court this morning for his release from the custody of federal marshals. According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, Western District of Missouri, Maher's attorneys filed a motion for Maher's release. The motion asked that custody of Maher be transferred to ICE's Enforcement and Removal Operations division.

Springfield Police don't always get a suspect to "sing" when it comes to confessing a crime. But, this isn't a story about the chirping of a suspect. In this case, the crime was solved by a bird...and a great memory. Hand-fed and pampered, Bandito the Sun Conure is a sweet and noisy bird. So when the $550 South American native flew the coop from Pet Warehouse a few months ago, it took everyone by surprise. "It was a very upsetting loss. On my part, I didn't know what to do," store manager Claire York said.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- A man from Greene County was sentenced in federal court on Friday for illegally possessing firearms and for counterfeiting after two separate incidents involving police pursuits in stolen vehicles.  In one chase, he rammed another vehicle, fired a shotgun and attempted to carjack two vehicles. U.S. District Judge Ortie Smith sentenced Timothy Sparks to 17 years and 6 months in federal prison without parole.  Sparks pleaded guilty last Oct. 18. Sparks admitted he broke into a home in Strafford on Dec. 17, 2009, and stole several items, including two rifles and a shotgun.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Crime Stoppers and the Springfield Police Department ask for help identifying a man who robbed a convenience store last month.  It happened on Sept. 5 at 11:04 p.m. at the Rapid Roberts at 3106 W. Battlefield Road. The robber picked up some liquor and then fled northbound from the store.  A clerk pursued on foot and, after a short distance, the thief displayed a handgun, causing the clerk to flee back to the store. The clerk described the thief as black, 5-foot-10, and about 170 pounds with shoulder length dreadlocks.  The photo is from a surveillance camera.

NIXA, Mo. -- The Nixa Police Department is investigating several reports of recent thefts, including at a construction project at an elementary school campus. The thief targeted a FEMA shelter under construction at Matthews Elementary School on Tuesday night.  The school district reports multiple hand tools, spools of wiring and lighting fixtures missing.  The district believes the robber left in a stolen, white cargo trailer. Police tie this robbery to many more throughout Nixa this week.  Anyone with information can call the Nixa Police Department at (417)

OSAGE BEACH, Mo. -- City police ask for the public's help in locating two people who went on a spree throughout the city on Friday.  They broke out car windows and stole purses and other items from vehicles. The thieves then went to stores in the area and used the debit cards and cash. Police describe one thief as a white woman about 5-foot-4 in her late 20s to mid-30s, with red hair in a ponytail, and medium build with a good tan.  During the spree on Friday, she wore a purple shirt and shorts.  The other thief is a white man who was wearing a gray shirt, but police don't have more information about him.  They may have been driving a dark Jeep Cherokee.  Anyone with information can contact the Osage Beach Police Department at 573-302-2010.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- When Jeannie Glover and her husband got home from work on Tuesday in their southeast neighborhood, they were greeted with a busted bedroom window where a thief broke into their house. The culprit got way with a lot of personal items. "Our computer and iPad, broke a lot of our family pictures, stole jewelery and clothing, and then took off with some duffel bags full," said Jeannie Glover. Just a few houses down, someone swiped something from the neighbors' garage.