Poplar Bluff police arrest man they say ran after shoplifting | Crime

POPLAR BLUFF, MO (KFVS) - The Poplar Bluff Police Department says officers were dispatched to WalMart Tuesday, February 12 at 10:16 a.m. for a shoplifter who was running from WalMart loss prevention.

The suspect was described as a black male wearing a black jacket and blue jeans. Police say he got into a red and white Ford regular cab truck that left the parking lot going south on US 67 as they approached.

According to police, a pursuit began and then ended in the 3000 block of Warrior Lane. The driver was arrested without incident as he tried to run into his apartment. The driver was identified as Michael Jackson Reece, white male, 60 years old and from Poplar Bluff. He was taken to the police station and booked on numerous traffic charges, a warrant for felony larceny issued by New Madrid County and resisting arrest. He was later taken to the Butler County Jail.

Police say the black male suspect also ran from the truck into a neighboring apartment where a 40-year-old woman lived. They say the suspect locked the door as he entered the apartment and would not allow her to open the door for them.

As officers were conducting a search for the suspect, the woman began banging on the front door in an attempt to alert police of her situation. As police concentrated their attention on the noise coming from the apartment, they say the suspect opened the door and they were able to arrest him.

The suspect was identified as Gregory Dewayne Davis, black male, 51 years old and from Charleston, Mo. Davis was taken to the police station where he was booked for misdemeanor stealing, first degree burglary, felonious restraint and resisting arrest. He was later taken to the Butler County Jail.

Members of the Missouri State Highway Patrol and the Butler County Sheriff's Office were called in to help in the area search and arrest of Davis.

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