On December 22, 2020, authorities in Poplar Bluff, Missouri, responded to a distress call reporting a shooting in the 800 block of Valley Street. Upon arriving at the residence, officers discovered the body of 30-year-old Tanika LeAnn Trice lying unresponsive in the driveway. Emergency personnel pronounced the female victim dead at the scene, launching an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the fatal incident.
Detectives interviewed 44-year-old Gregory Richie, a resident of
the home, who provided an account of the events leading up to the shooting. Richie told investigators that Trice had entered his bedroom accompanied by an unidentified male subject who was reportedly armed with a gun. According to Richie, the pair demanded his possessions, and the male subject took a television from the home before attempting to flee. Richie stated that he then retrieved a firearm and fired multiple shots at the fleeing subject.
Following the shooting, the male subject reportedly escaped in a white passenger vehicle, and Richie claimed he attempted to chase the vehicle in his own car. However, police investigation at the scene led to the arrest of Richie in connection with Trice’s death. He was taken into custody and booked at the Butler County Jail on a $50,000 cash or surety bond.
Prosecutors formally charged Richie with unlawful possession of a firearm and tampering with physical evidence. The charges stemmed from his possession of the weapon used in the incident, which he was prohibited from owning due to prior felony convictions, and his alleged actions regarding the evidence at the scene. The investigation continued as authorities sought to corroborate details of the alleged robbery and the specific sequence of events that resulted in Trice being fatally struck by gunfire.
