A man from Iron County, Missouri has been indicted on charges that accuse him of starting fires in the Mark Twain National Forest in Missouri and assaulting a law enforcement officer.
Lucas G. Henson, 36, appeared in U.S. District Court in Cape Girardeau Wednesday and pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Henson was indicted on December 6 on charges of assaulting a law enforcement officer, arson and being a felon in possession of a firearm.
The indictment says Henson assaulted a U.S. Forest Service law enforcement officer on Oct. 23, 2022, in Wayne County, Missouri. On the same date, the indictment says he damaged United States property with fire and possessed a firearm as a convicted felon.
Henson is currently facing charges including robbery, stealing a motor vehicle, and resisting arrest in New Madrid Circuit Court related to the same incident. Charging documents in that case, 22NM-CR00930, say he set three fires in Butler and Wayne counties that damaged seven to eight acres of National Forest land and pointed a crossbow at the Forest Service officer.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Forest Service, the Butler County Sheriff’s Office, the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office, and the Missouri State Highway Patrol. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Shelton is prosecuting the case.
