A Marshfield man pleaded guilty on March 14 and was sentenced to 22 years in prison for the 2023 shooting death of Jimmie E. Johnson III of Springfield.
Ronald Curnow, 24, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and unlawful possession of a firearm. As part of the plea agreement, prosecutors dropped one count of armed criminal action and lowered first-degree murder to second-degree murder.
According to online court records, Curnow waived his right to a sentencing assessment report.
Greene County Judge Kaiti Greenwade sentenced Curnow to 22 years in the Missouri Department of Corrections for second-degree murder and seven years for the unlawful possession of a firearm charge. Those sentences will run concurrently.
Another man involved in Johnson’s death, Payne R. Morse, 22, pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of a firearm (a class D felony under Missouri law) and tampering with physical evidence (a class E felony) in December of 2023. Morse will be sentenced in April.
According to court documents, Springfield police officers responded to a report that someone had been shot behind a residence around 2 a.m. on May 3, 2023, at 2304 N. National Ave. When officers arrived, they located a man with a gunshot wound lying in the backyard.
The victim, 42-year-old Johnson, was transported to a hospital, where he later died.
Curnow believed victim stole his red bag
According to the probable cause statement, Morse told investigators he gave Curnow a ride to an area near where they believed Johnson would be. Morse told police he dropped off Curnow about a block away from where the shooting occurred. Morse said he heard the gunshots and Curnow ran back to Morse’s vehicle. Morse told police he gave Curnow a ride back to Curnow’s home in Marshfield.
Morse told investigators that after he read a news story about Johnson’s death, he hid the gun used in the shooting.
According to the probable cause statement, another witness told an officer with the Springfield Police Department that he was walking with Johnson through the yard of the home on National Avenue on May 5, 2023, when Ronald Curnow approached.
Police later reviewed surveillance video from Mustang Tobacco and Liquor, where a disturbance had been reported prior to the shooting. That video showed Curnow and the witness in a physical altercation. As they fought, Johnson could be seen picking up items belonging to Curnow, including a red bag. After the fight, the witness and Johnson left the liquor store.
Morse said Curnow later noticed he was missing the red bag and believed it had been stolen. Curnow returned to the liquor store with Morse soon after. Curnow went inside and later told Morse he had reviewed the video and told Morse he had seen Johnson steal his red bag.
