Second man arrested in shooting death

Man who provided weapon, transported killer taken into custody

SIKESTON - A second man has been arrested in connection with the New Year's Eve shooting death of Fernando Curtis.

Sikeston resident Michael Ray Turner, 18, was arrested Thursday morning in Sikeston on first-degree murder charges for allegedly acting in association with Jermaine Anderson, 19, of Charleston, who was arrested Wednesday without incident in connection with Curtis' death.

Anderson faces first degree murder and armed criminal action charges filed by Mississippi County Prosecutor Jennifer Raffety.

Turner allegedly provided the weapon, described as an automatic 9mm handgun, and transported Anderson to and from the scene of the crime, according to Mississippi County Assistant Prosecutor Greg Spencer.

Spencer was hired with grant funds specifically to address this sort of crime, Raffety said, and noted the crime of first degree murder carries a range of punishment of life in prison without the possibility of parole or the death penalty. The crime of armed criminal action carries a range of punishment of three or more years to life in prison.

According to the prosecutor's office, Curtis was near the intersection of Vine and Elm streets at 2:30 p.m. when he was shot in his upper right thigh by a handgun. Apparently the bullet passed through his femoral artery in his upper thigh, causing him to bleed to death. Curtis was pronounced dead at Missouri Delta Medical Center in Sikeston.

Anderson and Turner remain in custody at the Mississippi County Detention Center without bond.

Both men were scheduled to be arraigned at 10 a.m. today and a preliminary hearing is expected in early February.