2-month feud leads to murder

SIKESTON - The murder of a Sikeston man apparently followed nearly a two-month feud.

The Sikeston Department of Public Safety reported the arrest of two individuals while they continue their search for William Henry Applewhite III, 27, and Gailon Lamarous Applewhite, 29, who are charged with first degree murder and armed criminal action in the Sunday evening shooting death of Christopher Qurvon West of Sikeston. Arrested Monday by DPS officers were Steven Kye Townsend, 23, and Marquon Akeem Davis, 25, both of Sikeston.

A third man, Jonathan Wright, is also being sought for his role in an earlier assault.

According to a report from Capt. Jim McMillen, DPS public information officer, the string of events began with a home invasion at 1:20 a.m. Nov. 15 at West's residence.

Although West was not home at the time, two men kicked the door in and assaulted West's girlfriend demanding money. After searching the house, the men punched the woman in the face and head and held her against her will for approximately 30 minutes before leaving with her phone, wallet and clothing.

The woman suffered broken bones around her eyes, a petechial hemorrhage and had hair pulled out of both sides of her head above her ears.

During the assault, the men's faces became visible to the woman. She later identified the assailants as Gailon Applewhite and Jonathan Wright, who were charged with first degree robbery, first degree burglary, armed criminal action, second degree assault, unlawful possession of a firearm and felonious restraint. Bond was set at $100,000 each and both are still wanted for the incident, according to McMillen.

On Dec. 29, the woman reported she was shot at several times since the Nov. 15 and believed it was Gailon Applewhite and Wright who were retaliating for her filing charges against them.

The victim reported on the morning of Dec. 27, a car driven by Steven Kye Townsend, 23, of Sikeston began following her. When the vehicle neared Ruth and Frisco streets, a passenger leaned out the window and fired six to seven shots at her vehicle with a pistol.

Townsend was charged Monday with first degree assault for his part in the Dec. 27 incident. His bond is set at $50,000 cash only through the Scott County Court.

Shortly after 3 p.m. Monday, Sikeston Department of Public Safety officers responded to Montgomery Street following a report of shots fired. At the scene officer located a weapon and one person was taken into custody. Two were taken eventually taken into custody on Monday and have been charged in connection with a series of events that led to to the murder of a Sikeston man on Sunday.

Townsend was arrested Monday during a shots-fired call in the 800 block of West Gladys. At the time, detectives were searching for Townsend for his involvement in the Dec. 27 shooting.

While in the apartment complex a subject approached officers and reported two men had just shot a gun and were running south from the area. The witness stated one subject was armed with a rifle.

"Police converged on the area and pursued two subjects on foot," McMillen said in a news release. "One of the suspects threw the weapon in question on the ground after a short period of time. Police continued to chase the subjects and apprehended them a few blocks from the apartment complex."

At that time Townsend was taken into custody along with Davis.

Reportedly as the two were fleeing from police, the rifle accidentally discharged nearly striking Davis.

During a search of Davis, police located controlled substance in the crotch of his pants. Davis was subsequently charged with the felony of possession of controlled substance with intent to distribute, felony possession of a controlled substance, tampering with physical evidence, assault of a law enforcement officer and bringing controlled substance into a jail facility. Davis was charged through Scott County Court Tuesday and given a $100,000 cash only bond.

SUNDAY FATAL SHOOTING

Sikeston DPS has asked for the public's help in locating William Henry Applewhite III and Gailon Lamarous Applewhite, who are to be considered armed and dangerous.

The murder and armed criminal action charges stem from an incident which began about 5:40 p.m. Sunday when police were called to North Main near College Street after a subject reported West was shot.

West, 31, had a single gunshot wound to the head. It is believed he died immediately upon being shot, according McMillen.

Police began their investigation at the scene and activated the SEMO Major Case Squad.

According to McMillen, during the investigation officers learned that West had a physical altercation with Gailon L. Applewhite around 3 p.m. Sunday at a business on West Malone Avenue.

According to the probable cause statement, Sunday evening West was driving east on Smith Street, when he observed Gailon L. Applewhite driving a vehicle with William Henry Applewhite as the passenger in the front seat and a third suspect in the back seat. Believing they would follow him to his residence on Smith Street, West attempted to get away by turning into the Food Giant parking lot then heading north on Main Street. The car driven by Applewhite also began traveling north on Main Street and was able to get in front of West's vehicle, which was in the left turn lane.

The vehicle driven by the suspects made a left turn off of Main Street heading west onto College Street. According to a witness, as Applewhite's vehicle became perpendicular to West's vehicle, the driver's side front and back windows were down and several gunshots were heard coming from the vehicle.

According to Detective Flint Dees with Sikeston DPS, one gunshot struck West in the head and another hit the driver's door.

"At the crime scene spent shell casings from .40 caliber and 9mm weapons were recovered indicating two guns were used by the suspects," wrote Dees in the probable cause statement. "On 1/12/15 a search of the suspect's vehicle was completed and another spent shell casing was recovered from inside the vehicle. A total of nine spent shell casings were located, eight at the scene and one inside the vehicle."

Gailon Applewhite has several previous convictions including two counts of possession of a controlled substance, resisting arrest, leaving the scene of an accident, damaging jail property and distribution/ delivery/ manufacture of a controlled substance.

Convictions of William Henry Applewhite III include trespassing, possession of marijuana, distribution of a controlled substance near a school and making a false report.

Anyone with information on their whereabouts that leads to their arrest is eligible for a cash reward. Tips can remain anonymous and be sent to 573-471-4711 or the crimestoppers hotline at 573-471-1500.