~UPDATED ~Landlord - Tenant Dispute Turns Deadly In Newton County; Suspect Charged With First Degree Murder:

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Danny Kay Thomas

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Authorities in Newton County are investigating a homicide near Stella.

Sheriff Ken Copeland says a dispute last night between a landlord and tenant at 19348 Route O ended with the landlord, 54 year-old Darrell Bone, of Pea Ridge, Arkansas being shot to death. 

Copeland says a friend of Danny Kay Thomas, 60, called them this morning to report a shooting.  When authorities arrived at the probation and parole office where the friend worked they questioned Thomas, who told investigators he shot Bone about 9 p.m. the previous evening (07-26-11.)
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Property where Darrel Bone was found murdered (courtesy KOAM)

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When officers went to the farmhouse they found Bone dead in the backyard.  Newton County Prosecutor Jake Skouby says Thomas told detectives Bone "was bangin' on his door and threatened to kill him." When Bone turned to leave Thomas said he went and got a gun and shot him in the back,,,and then "shot him twice in the face to finish him off."
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Thomas told investigators he then drove around in Bone's pickup truck, "thinking about what he had done."
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The truck and a rifle found inside the vehicle were recovered at the probation and parole office, according to Copeland.
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According to court documents, Bone went to the residence to inform Thomas he would be selling the property and Thomas would have to find somewhere else to live. Thomas shot Bone in the back with a rifle as he was walking away and then walked up and shot him in the face twice.
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Thomas has been charged with first-degree murder and armed criminal action.  Skouby says he will ask a judge that Thomas be held without bond.
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Southwest Missouri Forensics will conduct an autopsy tomorrow in Springfield.
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UPDATE 09-07-11:

Thomas waived his right to a preliminary hearing and was automaticall bound over for trial.

~~DEVELOPING~~UPDATED~~Newton County Authorities Investigating Early Morning Homicide; Charges Filed:

Terry Michael Smith (mug shot NCSO)

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Authorities in Newton County are investigating an early morning homicide at 12331 Sorrel Road which is in the southwest part of the county, according to Sheriff's Detective Andy Pike.
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According to the probable cause statement, Richard and Buffy Burns had been with Terry Michael Smith, 36, Goodman, and had taken some wood to Richards' uncle.  Knowing that Smith didn't have a place to stay, the couple took him back to a home they shared with Smith's sister, Lisa, and her husband, 44 year-old Steven Todd Gunn.
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Smith told investigators that once he entered the trailer he "snapped" and started yelling down the hallway towards his sisters bedroom.  Once inside the room he told his sister "do you know how bad you are fu**ing up my life?"  

Smith says that Gunn jumped up and got in his face.  He (Smith) then  pulled a handgun from the pocket of his jeans.  As the two men struggled for the gun , "it went off," and Gun fell to the floor.  Smith says he then laid the gun on the bed.

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Buffy Burns told investigators that she, her husband (Richard) and Lisa Gunn went into the bathroom and called 9-1-1.  Buffy and Richard Burns then left the residence with Smith to take him to a hospital in Joplin to be treated for a hand injury but she made a wrong turn and ended up at Smith's fathers house in Anderson. 
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Newton County Sheriff Ken Copeland

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Sheriff Ken Copeland says that after Smith was taken into custody he was  treated and released from  a hospital in Joplin for a hand injury and booked into the Newton County jail.
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Smith has been charged with first-degree murder and armed criminal action and is jailed on a $100,000 cash only bond.

Newton County School Board Member Charged With Statutory Rape, Possession Of Child Porn:

Matthew A. Boyer

A member of a school board in Newton County has been charged with two counts of second-degree statutory rape and possession of child pornography.

Newton County Prosecutor Jake Skouby filed those charges against Matthew A. Boyer, 35, of Neosho, on Thursday April 22nd.

Boyer, had served on the school board of the Westview School Board of Education for eight years until his resignation on Friday April 23rd. Superintendent Mark Fitch says, "A family member brought in his letter of resignation and we voted to accept it the same day. The charges come as a shock to me and other members of the school board."

The probable cause statement used as the basis for charging Boyer says, the Newton County Sheriff’s Department began an investigation into Boyer after receiving information from a high school girl who alleges she had sexual intercourse with Boyer on at least two occasions in September of 2009 when she was 16 years-old.

When police served a search warrant at Boyer's residence they found pictures of another underage girl on his home computer.

Online court records show that Boyer entered an Alford Plead to misdemeanor child endangerment in February. He was ordered to serve 60-days in jail, however, that assessment was suspended and he was placed on two years unsupervised probation. Boyer also pleaded guilty to nonsupport in 2008 and was received five years probation.

Boyer is in being held in the Newton County jail on $125,000 bond.

Granby Man Sentenced In Friends Hunting Death:

Jacob D. Shamblin

A Newton County man has been sentenced to 120 days in prison for shooting his friend to death last October while they hunted out of season.

Jacob D. Shamblin, 26, Granby, was charged with first-degree involuntary manslaughter in the shooting of nineteen year-old Steven Cox. The two were hunting at night, along with Cox's brother-in-law, on property owned by Cox's father-in-law in rural Granby.

Shamblin told authorities he fired his rifle at a figure he thought was a deer after hearing something rustling in the woods. Cox, who got separated from the other men was not wearing a hunting vest.

Cox's widow and Shamblin's mother told Judge Timothy Perigo that the shooting was a terrible accident and that both families have been receiving counseling since Cox's tragic death.

Newton County Prosecutor Jake Skouby argued he thought the circumstances of the shooting justified jail time, because a man died.

If Shamblin successfully completes the “120 day callback,” he will be released from prison and placed on probation for five years.