PB woman charged with murder also faces drug charge

A Poplar Bluff woman made her first court appearance Thursday morning on murder charges stemming from the death of a man whose body was found at the end of a county road in eastern Butler County and on an unrelated drug charge.

Shanesha Burns appeared before Associate Circuit Judge C. Wade Pierce for arraignment on the Class A felony of first-degree murder and the unclassified felony of armed criminal action or in the alternative second-degree murder, also known as felony murder.

She is accused of either “acting alone or knowingly in concert with another” to cause the May 20 shooting death of Jermaine Johnson.

Burns

The 32-year-old’s body was found May 20 by a citizen who was seining a ditch for crawfish on County Road 612. He reportedly suffered multiple gunshot wounds and died as the result of a gunshot wound to his torso.

Burns, according to Casenet, was formally arraigned on the charges and told of her constitutional right, including her right to counsel.

Burns requested and was referred to the Public Defender’s Office, and Katie New subsequently entered an appearance on Burns’ behalf.

Burns, who was charged Wednesday with the Class C felony of delivery of a controlled substance, also appeared before Pierce for arraignment on that charge.

Burns, according to Casenet, waived formal arraignment and pleaded not guilty on the charge. New entered an appearance on Burns’ behalf in that case.

Burns is accused of “acting in concert with another” to knowingly deliver heroin to a confidential witness on Jan. 3.

Pierce ordered Burns to appear Feb. 14 for a counsel status hearing in both of her cases.

The initial charges against Burns stem from the ongoing investigation into Johnson’s death.

“Throughout the course of the investigation of the homicide of Jermaine Johnson, it became apparent he was killed due to a drug transaction run afoul,” Butler County Sheriff Mark Dobbs earlier said.

Burns, Dobbs said, is “known to have made threats to killing or having Jermaine Johnson killed on May 19, about 10 hours prior to his actual death.”

Dobbs earlier described Burns as being a “major” supplier of drugs in Poplar Bluff and Butler County.

Burns’ drug charge stems from a controlled buy of suspected heroin on Jan. 3.

A confidential source (CS), according to Poplar Bluff Police Detective Corey Mitchell’s probable-cause statement, contacted Burns by phone and “successfully negotiated the purchase of (a quantity) of heroin for $100.”

The CS and Burns, Mitchell said, arranged to meet at a Poplar Bluff business.

“Burns further advised that she would be sending someone to meet (the CS),” Mitchell said.

Police detectives Jason Morgan and Steve McCane set up surveillance on the business, said Mitchell, who took the CS to a location “within close proximity” to the business and dropped them off.

Mitchell said he then maintained surveillance on the individual as they approached the business.

With the officers watching, Mitchell said, a gold colored vehicle arrived, and the CS made contact with its lone occupant.

After a few minutes, the vehicle drove away, Mitchell said.

When Mitchell subsequently contacted the CS, he said, he was given a “plastic bag that contained a dark-colored, rock-like substance, purported to be heroin …”

The substance subsequently was field tested and “presumptively tested positive for the presence of heroin,” Mitchell said.

Burns continues to be held in the Butler County jail. Her bond is set at $500,000 cash or surety on the murder charges and $100,000 cash or surety on the drug offense.