KENNETT – Dunklin County Prosecuting Attorney Nicholas Jain has announced three defendants who were set for trial in May decided to plead guilty.
“These defendants committed serious crimes which harmed victims and the community; they decided to plead guilty because the state was ready to prove their guilt to a jury,” Jain said.
Steven Michael Kirkwood, 38, of Malden was set for a jury trial May 30 through June 1. He was charged with fatally shooting Ryan Lehnig at a party in Malden on Aug. 22, 2020. Kirkwood pleaded guilty to murder in the second degree and faces up to a life sentence in prison at his sentencing on July 12.
Fletcher Tuck, 44, of Kennett was set for a jury trial May 1 through May 4. Tuck pleaded guilty to statutory sodomy in the first degree. He was sentenced to 20 years in the Missouri Department of Corrections. No further information will be released to protect the victim due to the nature of the charges.
Christopher Knuckles, 28, of Kennett was set for a jury trial May 15 and 16.
Knuckles pleaded guilty to statutory rape in the first degree and faces a punishment of 10 or more years at his sentencing on June 15. No further information will be released to protect the victim due to the nature of the charges.
Additionally, Travis Crane, 32, of Kennett, who was not set for trial, pleaded guilty to statutory sodomy in the first degree and will be sentenced July 26. He faces a range of punishment of 10 or more years in the Missouri Department of Corrections. He previously received 17 and a half years in the Federal Bureau of Prisons for possession of child pornography. No further information will be released to protect the victim due to the nature of the charges.
Dwayne Anthony Cross, 40, of Kennett was sentenced to serve two 15-year sentences for distributing methamphetamine near a school after a jury found him guilty at trial in January.