Rural Justice Report

Tracking Local Crime and Court Cases

This is a Crime Page dedicated to keeping our community informed about court cases and legal matters occurring in Cedar County and the surrounding areas. As residents of rural America, we must stay aware of the issues affecting our neighborhoods. Knowledge fosters safety and community engagement.

Through this platform, we aim to shed light on local legal proceedings and empower our readers to stay informed. Please remember that all individuals charged with a crime are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. The El Dorado Springs Sun strives to present accurate information; however, we cannot be held liable for any errors or omissions in our reporting.

Stay updated on local cases by subscribing to The El Dorado Springs Sun. Please send all corrections or typos to sunpub@centurylink.net, including the article information in the subject line.

El Dorado Springs man jailed on first-degree assault warrant

From the El Dorado Springs Newsroom

An El Dorado Springs man was taken into custody on March 12 after authorities served a felony warrant alleging first-degree assault involving serious physical injury or a special victim.

Garrett Ecker, 42, was arrested by the Cedar County Sheriff’s Office and booked into the Cedar County Jail at 4:32 p.m. Court records show Ecker is charged with assault in the first degree or attempt — serious physical injury or special victim, a felony offense. The alleged offense date is listed as March 12, 2026.

Bond in the case was set at $100,000 cash only.

Publicly available court records reviewed at the time of publication did not list additional pending charges or past offenses beyond the assault charge associated with this warrant.

As of press time, the individual was still being held at the Cedar County Jail.

Lamar woman jailed on third-degree assault warrant

From the El Dorado Springs Newsroom

A Lamar woman was taken into custody on March 10 on an outstanding warrant alleging third-degree assault.

Rosie Katheryn Pitts, 51, was arrested by the Barton County Sheriff’s Office and booked into the Cedar County Jail at 11:29 p.m. Court records show Pitts is charged with assault in the third degree, a misdemeanor offense. The alleged offense date is listed as March 10, 2026.

At the time of booking, no bond had been set.

Publicly available court records reviewed at the time of publication did not list additional pending charges or past offenses beyond the assault charge associated with this warrant.

As of press time, the individual was still being held at the Cedar County Jail.

El Dorado Springs man jailed on failure-to-appear warrants in traffic case

From the El Dorado Springs Newsroom

An El Dorado Springs man was taken into custody on March 9 on warrants issued after he allegedly failed to appear in court on traffic-related charges.

Stephen Kendus, 60, was arrested by the Cedar County Sheriff’s Office and booked into the Cedar County Jail at 1:12 p.m. on March 10. Court records show Kendus is charged with operating a motor vehicle with brakes not in good working order and failure to wear a properly adjusted or fastened safety belt.

Both warrants list the original offense date as July 9, 2024, and were issued as failure-to-appear warrants. Bond was set at $500 cash only on the brake violation charge. No bond amount was listed on the seat belt charge at the time of booking.

Publicly available court records reviewed did not show additional pending charges or past offenses beyond the two traffic-related cases currently listed.

As of press time, the individual was still being held at the Cedar County Jail.

Goodman man jailed on multiple felony and traffic warrants

From the El Dorado Springs Newsroom

A Goodman man was taken into custody on March 10 on numerous warrants that include felony assault, drug trafficking, and probation violation charges, along with several traffic-related offenses.

John Keith Gray, 40, was arrested and booked into the Cedar County Jail at 12 p.m. Court records show Gray is charged with probation or parole violation, second-degree assault, trafficking drugs in the first degree over the statutory amount, unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia, resisting or opposing a member of the Missouri State Highway Patrol in the discharge of duties, and aggravated fleeing a stop or detention.

The additional warrants list traffic-related offenses, including failure to display plates, exceeding the posted speed limit, failure to stop at a stop sign, and operating a motor vehicle in a careless and imprudent manner.

Records show all warrants list an offense date of March 10, 2026. Bond amounts listed in court records include $3,500 on the aggravated fleeing charge and $250 cash-only bonds on several traffic-related offenses. No bond was listed on several of the felony charges at the time of booking.

Publicly available court records reviewed did not reveal any additional past offenses beyond those currently listed in this case.

As of press time, the individual was still being held at the Cedar County Jail.

Forest City man jailed on first-degree murder and armed criminal action charges

From the El Dorado Springs Newsroom

A Forest City man was taken into custody on March 10 on felony warrants charging him with first-degree murder and armed criminal action.

Carter Joshua Curtis, 20, was arrested by the Cedar County Sheriff’s Office and booked into the Cedar County Jail at 11:52 a.m. Court records show Curtis is charged with murder in the first degree and armed criminal action, both felony offenses. The alleged offense date for both charges is listed as March 10, 2026.

At the time of booking, no bond had been set on either charge.

Publicly available court records reviewed did not list additional pending charges or past offenses beyond the two felony charges associated with this case.

As of press time, the individual was still being held at the Cedar County Jail.

Butler Man jailed on domestic assault and witness tampering charges

From the El Dorado Springs Newsroom

A Butler man was taken into custody on March 10 on felony warrants alleging domestic assault and tampering with a victim in a felony prosecution.

James Dotson, 22, was arrested by the Cedar County Sheriff’s Office and booked into the Cedar County Jail at 11:47 a.m. Court records show Dotson is charged with domestic assault in the second degree and tampering or attempting to tamper with a victim in a felony prosecution, both felony offenses. The alleged offense date for both charges is listed as March 10, 2026.

At the time of booking, no bond had been set on either charge.

Publicly available court records reviewed did not list additional pending charges or past offenses beyond the two felony charges associated with this case.

As of press time, the individual was still being held at the Cedar County Jail.

Butler Man jailed on felony drug possession warrant

From the El Dorado Springs Newsroom

A Butler man was taken into custody on March 10 on a felony warrant alleging possession of a controlled substance.

George Othel Willis Ratje, 33, was arrested by the Cedar County Sheriff’s Office and booked into the Cedar County Jail at 11:34 a.m. Court records show Ratje is charged with possession of a controlled substance, a felony offense. The alleged offense date is listed as March 10, 2026.

At the time of booking, no bond had been set.

Publicly available court records reviewed did not list additional pending charges or past offenses beyond the possession charge associated with this warrant.

As of press time, the individual was still being held at the Cedar County Jail.

Kansas man jailed as fugitive on assault, armed criminal action, and drug charges

From the El Dorado Springs Newsroom

A Kansas man was taken into custody on March 10 on multiple felony warrants, including charges related to assault, armed criminal action, drug possession, and being a fugitive from out of state.

Christopher Cutshaw, 30, of Louisburg, Kansas, was arrested by the Cedar County Sheriff’s Office and booked into the Cedar County Jail at 11:22 a.m. Court records show Cutshaw is charged with being a fugitive from out of state, armed criminal action, assault in the first degree or attempt, and possession of a controlled substance. All charges list an alleged offense date of March 10, 2026.

At the time of booking, no bond had been set on the listed charges.

Publicly available court records reviewed did not list additional pending charges or past offenses beyond those associated with the current warrants.

As of press time, the individual was still being held at the Cedar County Jail.

El Dorado Springs man jailed on probation violation warrant

From the El Dorado Springs Newsroom

A man was taken into custody on March 9 after officers served a warrant alleging a probation violation.

Devin Smukowski, 32, was arrested by the El Dorado Springs Police Department and booked into the Cedar County Jail at 2:24 a.m. Court records show Smukowski is being held on a probation violation warrant. The warrant lists an offense date of Jan. 23, 2026.

At the time of booking, no bond had been set.

Publicly available court records reviewed did not list additional pending charges or past offenses beyond the probation violation associated with this warrant.

As of press time, the individual was still being held at the Cedar County Jail.