The early morning hours of May 3, 2023, were disrupted by violence in a residential neighborhood of Springfield, Missouri. At approximately 1:54 a.m., officers from the Springfield Police Department were dispatched to the 2304 block of North National Avenue following reports of a shooting. Upon arrival, law enforcement discovered a man lying in the backyard of a residence, suffering from a gunshot wound. The victim was identified as 42-year-old Jimmie E. Johnson III.
First responders transported him to a local hospital for emergency treatment, but he ultimately succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead.
Detectives from the Springfield Police Department Homicide Unit immediately launched an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the fatal shooting. Witnesses and neighbors in the area reported hearing an argument ensued by the sound of gunshots, describing distinct discharges that suggested a confrontation had escalated. Authorities determined that the victim and the shooter likely knew one another, characterizing the incident as an argument that had gone wrong rather than a random act of violence.
Within days of the shooting, investigators identified and apprehended two suspects believed to be involved in the death of the Springfield man. On May 3, 2023, police arrested 22-year-old Payne R. Morse. The Greene County Prosecutor’s Office subsequently charged him with being a Felon in Possession of a Firearm and Tampering with Evidence, holding him on a $50,000 bond. The following day, on May 4, 2023, authorities arrested the second suspect, 23-year-old Ronald L. Curnow. Curnow faced more severe allegations, with prosecutors charging him with First-Degree Murder and Felon in Possession of a Firearm. He was held in the Greene County Jail without bond as the case proceeded through the legal system.
