Joplin man charged with third DWI, endangering the welfare of a child

The Newton County Prosecuting Attorney's office charged a Joplin man with driving while intoxicated and endangering the welfare of a child, both felonies.

An arrest warrant was issued for Evan Lane Bickford (DOB 1987) and bond set at $3,500 cash or surety.

From the probable cause statement:

On 09-10-2025 at approximately 1748 hours I, Officer K. Andersen was dispatched to a car stop in the 3300 block of S Connecticut Ave on a vehicle with a possible impaired driver. I arrived on scene and contacted the male driver, Evan Bickford who was standing next to his vehicle with Sgt. Bowin. 

Inside the vehicle was his juvenile child, V1 who was standing up in the back seat. There was not a child's car seat in the vehicle which his two-year-old child needed to be in. 

Upon contact with Mr. Bickford, I could smell the odor of intoxicants coming from him. His eyes were bloodshot and watery, and his speech was slow, mumbled, and slurred. He was unsteady on his feet and swayed back and forth and his walk was staggered. Mr. Bickford submitted to part of the horizontal gaze nystagmus test, and I observed four clues before he stopped cooperating with the test. Mr. Bickford was not able to safely complete the remainder of the tests. 

He provided a preliminary breath sample which showed him to have a breath alcohol concentration of 0.365. He later submitted a breath sample under implied consent which showed him to have a breath alcohol concentration of 0.355. He showed to have two prior driving while intoxicated convictions through the city of Joplin on 02-23-2006 and 05-01-2006.

The case was investigated by the Joplin Police Department.