Apr 3, 2008

On March 26, Ozark County Sheriff's Dispatch received a report that a shooting had occurred at a residence on County Road 153 in Ozark County. Ozark County Sheriff Raymond Pace and deputies, along with the Missouri State Highway Patrol, responded to the scene. A suspect was outside the residence and was taken into custody. The officers then went to the aid of the suspects' girlfriend who was also outside the residence. It appeared she had been shot in the chest. Persons on scene told deputies that the suspect had shot the female victim as well as a male victim located inside the residence. Deputies entered the residence and found a male subject, James Lee Johnson, 32, deceased with what appeared to be multiple gunshot wounds. The girlfriend, identified this week by the Ozark County Times as Delores K. Crain, 49, of Zanoni, was taken by air ambulance to a Springfield hospital where her condition was unknown at the time the information was released to the Herald by the Ozark County Sheriff's Department. The assailant is identified as Roger Hershey, 49, of Ozark County. According to information posted on the Ozark County Times’ website, Hershey is charged with first-degree murder and first-degree domestic assault, as well as armed criminal action and unlawful use of a weapon. He is being held without bond in the Ozark County Jail, according to the report.