MURDER CASE HAS TOWN WORRIED ABOUT GROWING DRUG PROBLEM

BOLIVAR, Mo. - Rocky Davisson lived ugly and died violently, a small-town
drifter who ran with a hard crowd and ended up beaten so badly that police
had to use his tattoos to help identify his body.

Given the way he lived, people here aren't much surprised by the way he
died. Hang around the drug trade, dig your own grave, many figure.

What has people in this southwest Missouri town talking -- and concerned --
is the number of people charged in Davisson's July 12 murder. They wonder
what that means to the town whose motto is "The Friendly City," and they
worry about how much drugs will change the nature of modern life in rural
Missouri.

"People are worried," said the Rev. Pete Davidson, a retired Baptist
minister who lives outside Bolivar. "A lot of people don't realize there's
dope in town, or they think they'll ignore it and it'll go away. People
worry when a man gets beaten to death."

So far, nine persons -- all from in or around Bolivar -- have been charged
in connection with Davisson's murder. More arrests are likely, said Polk
County Sheriff Michael L. Parson, who is leading the investigation.

Authorities won't say much about the details of what led to Davisson's
murder. But Parson said that Davisson knew his alleged attackers, and that
all were related to the burgeoning southern Missouri methamphetamine and
marijuana trade. There may have been a small debt involved, Parson said.

The attack took place over a two-day period. The only weapons involved were
the fists and feet of four men, their only targets were Davisson's head and
neck, according to court records. When it was all over, Davisson's body lay
in a ditch on the side of a gravel road in neighboring Hickory County.

Five persons have been charged with kidnapping and second-degree murder:
David W. Jarnagin, 32; Terry W. Garzee, 41; Ricky Herbert, 32; Mickel D.
Garrett, 27; and Denise L. Blake, 45. Court records allege the four men
beat Davisson, while Blake watched. All five are being held on $500,000 bond.

Four others have been charged with hindering prosecution: James Lee Cates,
34; Roxanne J. Evans, 23; Claude Jarnagin Jr., 34; and Kim Herbert, 27.
Court records allege that the four, all friends or relatives of those
charged with murder, gave varying degrees of assistance to the persons
accused of killing Davisson.

Parson said he is struck by the savagery of the murder. Just as troubling,
he said, is the large number of people who allegedly knew about the murder
and decided to help the accused instead of calling the police.

"There's a responsibility, civilly and morally, as much as criminally, to
do the right thing," Parson said.

But, he added with resignation, "times have changed to a certain degree."

Fueling the change is the growth in southwest Missouri during the last
decade. While that has brought more money and people to the area, it also
comes with a dark side, a part of which is the drug trade that likely led
to Davisson's death. In February, 18 homes were raided and 36 persons
charged in a drug bust in nearby Carthage, Mo., that followed a 21/2-year
investigation.

"We have had an unusually high level of violent crime over the last several
years," Parson said. "You say, 'What's going on here?' It comes with the
territory. I wish I only had to have four or five deputies. Those days are
over."

Instead, his department has about 20 deputies and investigators, a
testament to the changing needs of the county.

Davidson pointed to the growth of the area as the root of the problem.

"There's so many strangers in town," he said. "I live by myself out in the
country. It bothers me now when people come to the door. Ten years ago, you
left your door open."

Not all the problems can be blamed on newcomers, though. In the Davisson
case, all the accused have deep roots around Bolivar. Parson has known the
family of one of the accused for his whole life, and many in town say the
same thing.

"I know a lot of the guys that are supposed to have done it," said Orlan
Hale, 69, sitting at his son's antique shop on the Polk County Courthouse
square in Bolivar. One of the accused, Hale said, "hasn't been worth a dime
since the day he dropped out of his mama."

Hale shook his head and pushed his cap back on his gray hair.

"You worry about your kids, your grandkids, yourself," he said. "Dope,
right here in town."

Bolivar remains a safe place, with unprovoked violence unlikely to occur,
Parson said. But the drug trade will continue to make its impact felt, he said.

"The bottom line is, it's here, it's gonna be here, and we are not ahead of
the problem," Parson said. "If you're going to have meth, weapons and
stealing, you're gonna have all of them together. You can't separate them.
And then you get violence....It's not going to slow down."