Defendant bound over on charge he torched his mother's home
Sep. 18—MOUNT VERNON, Mo. — A Lawrence County judge ruled this week that a 38-year-old man should stand trial on a charge that he set a fire that destroyed his mother's trailer home.
Associate Judge Matthew Kasper decided at the conclusion of a preliminary hearing Thursday in Lawrence County Circuit Court that there is probable cause for William T. Stovall, of Mount Vernon, to stand trial on a count of first-degree arson. The judge set Stovall's initial appearance in a trial division for Nov. 8.
Deputies and firefighters were called June 6 to an address on Walnut Street in Hobert regarding a suicidal man setting a trailer home on fire. The owner of the trailer home, Lena Stovall, had placed a call reporting that her son was sending text messages with photos substantiating the fire he purportedly set.
When deputies arrived on the scene, the trailer home was already about 70% destroyed, according to a probable-cause affidavit. The defendant was taken to a hospital for treatment of injuries sustained in the fire.
The affidavit states that the defendant had sent messages stating "Goodbye" over and over again, and one message stated that he was lighting a fire. The photos he subsequently sent showed spray-painted messages, including "Burn It All Now," at the residence, according to the affidavit.
Jeff Lehr is a reporter for The Joplin Globe.
