Teenage Rampage

Last Monday morning, downtown West Plains was the scene of a small business owner's worst nightmare. Police responded to an alarm at 4:00 a.m. and eventually discovered five businesses covered in broken glass, drops of blood, and debris. 

Damon Wingler has owned Game Stash since February 2022, and despite suffering tens of thousands of dollars in damage in the burglaries, he is looking on the bright side. 

"There was no stopping something like this," Wingler said in an interview Saturday. "I have to push forward."

Because of the mess and chaos after the crime, Wingler took the opportunity to close and deeply clean the storefront, even rearranging his inventory. Ultimately, he hopes to turn this sour situation into lemonade.

"I'm a fairly new business owner at the end of the day, and to have to deal with something this serious ... Hopefully, the community shows support. It takes a village. You don't succeed on your own here, and remember it's other small businesses that got hit, not just mine," Wingler said. 

Game Stash has been in business for two decades in downtown West Plains. In addition to selling game consoles, they also offer repairs and host game nights. A Dungeons and Dragons night will take place in early September. Check Facebook.com/GameStash for details.

"If you're looking for a console or anything, think of Game Stash first," Wingler said. "We could use it."

Crime Spree

Zacchaeus Viers, 18, of West Plains, has been charged with burglarizing and stealing from Game Stash and Fishland along with breaking into and damaging Rickie David Jewelers, Rush Truck Center, and Get 'n Go. 

A door alarm at Rickie David Jewelers brought officers to the 100 block of Washington Ave. and found the glass back door at both the jeweler and the neighboring business, Game Stash, were smashed to allow entry, say court documents. Officers observed fresh drops of blood on the exterior and interior of both business doors. 

"He did not 'Mission Impossible' his way in," Wingler clarified. Though a skylight in the building was broken, Wingler wants the record straight that there was nothing interesting or cool about the way the thief accessed building. 

After clearing the crime scenes, police located Viers walking near Dixon and St. Louis Streets. Court documents say he "had a large amount of blood on his person and had lacerations to his arms." Officers placed Viers in handcuffs. He implicated himself in the burglaries by admitting to officers he stole "everything that was in [his] bag." Multiple items stolen from Game Stop were located in the bag. A probable cause statement says items valued at $1,093 were stolen, but the damage to the business location was an estimated $13,000. 

Nothing was taken from the jewelry store, but damage to the building is an estimated $4,000.

At the time officers arrested Viers, they were unaware of the damage and theft from Fishland, but soon observed the broken window at the St. Louis Street business. More than $500 in cash and a bottle of prescription medication was stolen, the owners reported. There was a large amount of blood inside of the store.

Viers is also accused of breaking into Get 'n Go on N. Howell Ave. and Rush Truck Center on Trish Knight St. 

The accused was booked into Howell County Jail by 4:35 a.m., say court documents. The Howell County Prosecuting Attorney's office filed five separate criminal cases against Viers, one for each business. 

In total, Viers faces five counts of second degree burglary, two counts of first degree property damage, and one count of stealing more than $750. The total amount of his bond is $50,000, $10,000 for each case.

On August 19, the Honorable R. David Ray denied the defendant's request for a bond amendment. These matters are set for preliminary hearing on August 30.