Webb City man pleads guilty to using violence to tamper with witnesses in murder/kidnapping

(From the U. S. Attorney for the Northern District of Oklahoma)

Another defendant has pleaded guilty to using physical force against two individuals to stop them from communicating with law enforcement about the kidnapping and murder of a Joplin, Missouri, woman, announced U.S. Attorney Clint Johnson of the Northern District of Oklahoma.

Lane Ryan Bronson, 29, pleaded guilty to tampering with a witness, victim, and informant by using and threatening physical force. If a federal judge approves the stipulated sentence, Bronson will serve 19 years in federal prison. The judge will make the final determination at a sentencing hearing to be held at a later date.

Bronson admitted that on Aug. 13, 2020, he directed Chloe Stith, 22, to lure the two victims to her car where she restrained them and blindfolded them with duct tape. Stith and Bronson then drove the victims to a secluded location. They uncovered the victims’ eyes, and Bronson told one victim that he heard she had been talking about Jolene Walker Campbell’s disappearance. Bronson then assaulted the male victim while he was still restrained and defenseless.

Bronson’s brother Tre Ackerson, 28, is alleged to have kidnapped Walker Campbell in Joplin, traveled into Oklahoma, and murdered the woman between July 4 and July 5, 2020. Ackerson and Breanna Sloan, 23, then allegedly left her body in a rural Mayes County, Oklahoma, field. Sloan drove the vehicle and initially lured the victim by offering her a ride. On Nov. 17, 2022, Sloan pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting Ackerson to kidnap the victim, ultimately leading to her murder. Ackerson is set for trial in January and is innocent until proven guilty.

Bronson and Ackerson’s mother Kimberly Grissom, 48, and Jacob Scribner, 35, are also awaiting further proceedings in federal court. They are charged with conspiracy to retaliate against a witness, victim, and informant.

In total, seven defendants have now pleaded guilty to various charges from kidnapping to witness tampering.

The defendants are from the Joplin, Missouri, area.

The FBI led the investigation with the support of the Muscogee Nation Lighthorse Police Department, Mayes County Sheriff’s Office, and Joplin Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Justin G. Bish and George Jiang are prosecuting the case.