Ava man to serve life in prison for 2020 murder

AVA, Mo. — An Ava man has been sentenced to life in prison, plus 125 years, for murdering another man in 2020.

Online court records show William R. Wolfe was in court on Oct. 8, 2024 where a Douglas County judge sentenced Wolfe to life in prison for first-degree murder and 125 years combined for all other charges. All sentences will run consecutively, meaning one right after the other.

Wolfe was charged with a string of felonies in 2020 after deputies discovered 84-year-old Clarence “Bob” Clark dead inside his home. The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office (DCSO) suspected foul play was involved.

The grand jury’s indictment in the case states that Wolfe “…knowingly caused the death of Clarence Clark by shooting him” and that Wolfe was a persistent offender who had been convicted of several felonies.

According to DCSO, Wolfe also stole the victim’s truck, which he later used to attempt to run Sheriff Chris Degase off the road.

At the time of the initial investigation in 2020, Degase also told OzarksFirst that when Wolfe was discovered hiding on private property, he and the property owner fought with Wolfe while trying to detain him.

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