Sheriff’s departments in Maries, Osage and Gasconade counties have been busy this past week with arrests, burglary attempts, assaults and warrants.

Traffic stop leads to drug arrest

An Owensville man who was arrested in Belle in the early hours of June 12 following a traffic stop now has charges alleging delivery of a controlled substance, possession of a controlled substance and unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia.

Dennis Page, 28, was stopped by Deputy Bret Turnbough with the Maries County Sheriff’s Department Belle Division at the intersection of Fourth Street and Linn Street in Belle for defective equipment on Friday. During the stop the deputy suspected that Page was under the influence of controlled substances and requested Osage County Sheriff’s K-9 unit to conduct an exterior sweep of the vehicle.

According to Maries County Sheriff Chris Heitman, the K-9, Zed, alerted the presence of narcotics during the sweep. Deputies located and seized suspected methamphetamines, heroin and fentanyl.

A warrant was issued by Judge Kerry G. Rowden for his arrest and Page is being held without bond at the Maries County Jail.

Burglary at vacant residence

A green Chevy Cavalier parked in the driveway of a vacant residence in Belle at 1:45 p.m. Friday sparked the curiosity and suspicion of the property owner, who summoned help.

During the incident on June 12, the driver of the car, later identified as Von A. Brown, 20, of Chamois, was reportedly hunched down in the seat when the property owner pulled up behind him. Brown honked the horn three times, and fled the scene, starting a hunt for three would-be burglars who had been caught in the act.

Lt. Justin Carnes in his probable cause statement noted the rear door had been damaged when it was forced open, and there were fresh tracks caused by foot traffic in the tall grass behind the residence.

Several drawers and cabinets had been opened in the laundry room, and items had been removed from a dresser drawer in a bedroom. However, nothing appeared to be missing from the residence.

“Due to the circumstances, we believed that the Cavalier was parked in front of the residence while other subjects were inside committing burglary,” said Carnes.

It also appeared that the unknown burglars had fled into the woods behind the house on Highway 89 South near Route Y. Responding officer Cpl. Ricky Jarvis arrived on the scene with K-9 Zed, and a search began.

An all-points bulletin was sent out to neighboring counties as well.

Brown was later taken into custody in Gasconade County, and transported to the Osage County Jail.

The two other suspects, Heather M. Jackson, 31, of Owensville, and Devin L. Gehlert, 32, of Belle, were located about three hours later by local residents walking on Osage County Road 715,  Deputies from Maries and Osage counties quickly moved in and took them into custody without incident.

Sheriff Mike Bonham said he appreciates the help of surrounding agencies.

“We wish to thank the Gasconade and Maries County Sheriff Offices for their help in quickly apprehending the subjects,” he said. “It is great to have the neighboring agencies jump in and help at a moment’s notice.”

Both said they had come down from behind the school and walked down the creek. Jackson was taken into custody on a warrant from the Vienna Police Department. During a frisk of Gehlert, deputies found marijuana.

Gehlert told Capt. Travis Shaffer that the green Cavalier was owned by Von, but refused to say anything more unless deputies promised not to take him to jail. Jackson told deputies she didn’t know what was going on, a statement she would later change.

During transport to the jail, Jackson told Jarvis they were having car trouble and pulled into the driveway, but insisted that she and her dog went to a nearby pond, where she met up with Gehlert 15 minutes later.

Capt. Shaffer reported that Gehlert admitted during transport to the jail to being in the car driven by Brown, along with Jackson. Gehlert further said that Brown was driving poorly on Route Y, which caused Jackson to become distressed. His claim is that he and Jackson were let out of the vehicle at the residence next door to the driveway in which Brown and his car were initially spotted.

When Brown was questioned, he advised Gasconade County deputies that his vehicle had been stolen that morning from the park in Belle, and he had recovered it at the park in Bland. In fact, he said he was just about to visit the Maries County Sheriff’s Office to report the car stolen.

During a consent search of the vehicle, Carnes found a toy John Deere chainsaw and a white trash bag full of clothes, which Brown said had been left in the car by whomever had stolen it.

According to Brown, he did not know Jackson or Gehlert.

Carnes noted in the probable cause statement that he had seen similar toys at the residence in Belle, and that the variety of female clothing appeared to be about Jackson’s size. Brown also told deputies there was a pellet gun between the driver’s seat and center console that was not his, which Carnes seized.

As Brown was taken to the Osage County Jail, he told Carnes that he had lied about his car being stolen because he had just gotten out of prison.

Another lie clarified is that Brown had known Gehlert as a friend for about a year.

When Gehlert asked for a ride to his aunt’s house, Brown obliged, adding he believed the residence at which he was parked belonged to Gehlert’s aunt. Gehlert reportedly brought the bag of clothes with him. Jackson had accompanied Gehlert to Brown’s house.

According to court documents, Brown said he parked in front of the residence, as Gehlert said he needed to get a few things from the house, where he claimed to have been living with his aunt.

Jackson and Gehlert went around to the back of the house, according to Brown, and returned moments later with the toy chainsaw. The pair then returned to the residence, and Brown said he honked his horn once to indicate he was leaving, but told Carnes that he did not leave at a high rate of speed, and was unaware that anyone had pulled up behind him. Further, Brown said he did not commit a burglary or see anyone who did.

Jackson’s account differed in virtually every detail. She told Carnes that Brown had arrived at her aunt’s house in Belle looking for Gehlert because he needed help working on his car. Jackson said Brown drove them to Lange’s Creek on County Road 735 or 737 to work on the car there.

While they were looking at the vehicle, Jackson said she went for a swim in the creek. When they left the creek, the car started acting up, so they pulled into the residence in question to continue working on it.

Admitting she did not know who lived there, Jackson said she walked to the rear of the house with her dog to the pond, and was alone there for about 20 minutes. She said she heard a horn and saw a truck pulling into the driveway. Brown drove away, and because she didn’t know whose property she was on, Jackson said she fled into the woods. It was later that she found Gehlert walking along the creek. Jackson claimed ignorance of how the toy chainsaw made its way into the vehicle, but guessed it had been in the house. She denied committing burglary to the residence or sheds, but said a soda can that had fallen from the back of the car when Brown left was hers.

Gehlert’s version of the situation was interesting. He said he couldn’t remember if he called Brown and asked him for a ride or walked by his residence. Either way, Gehlert said he asked that Brown take him and Jackson to Lange’s Creek to swim. After they left, Brown’s erratic driving led Gehlert to ask to be let out, which is how he said they wound up at the residence in question. He changed his previous statement that they had exited the vehicle at the house next door.

According to Gehlert, he and Jackson began walking toward Belle because he feared there was a warrant out for his arrest, and he did not want to be seen. Further, he said that Jackson was with him the whole time, and he never heard a horn. In addition to claiming he never went into the residence or sheds, Gehlert said he saw no one else do so, adding he had never seen the toy chainsaw. He also told Carnes the vehicle had not broken down.

Bonham has requested charges on all three suspects for burglary in the second degree, property damage in the second degree, and stealing.

Drug charges
for bland man

A Bland man was charged June 9 with two felonies and three misdemeanors following an attempt to first evade and then assault deputies from the Maries County Sheriff’s Department.

Maries County Sheriff’s Department Belle Division deputies Caleb Cooper and Bret Turnbough responded to an emergency call in the morning hours of June 10 to a residence on Apple Street in Belle. The call reported a male subject, Danny L Stradford, 62, of Bland, was attempting to kill someone. According to the deputy’s report, Stradford fled out of the back window of the home as deputies arrived.

During his attempt to flee, Stratford repeatedly called 911, cursed at the dispatcher and demanded to speak with Sheriff Chris Heitman, saying, “If the sheriff values his deputy’s life, he needs to call them off.”

Deputies later located and attempted to apprehend Stradford while he was walking down Johnson Avenue in Belle. Stratford threatened to kill both deputies, aggressively approaching them and pulled a knife attempting to stab Turnbough as the deputy attempted an arrest.

According to the police report, Turnbough was forced to protect himself, but instead of using deadly force, physically forced Stradford to the ground. Deputies were eventually able to take Stradford into custody.

Once in custody, deputies located a hypodermic needle along with the knife that the subject used to attack. While in custody, Stratford threatened to kill the deputies’ families and promised to get them when he gets out.

Stradford has been charged with felony B assault in the second degree — special victim, felony (unclassified) armed criminal action, misdemeanor A resisting/interfering with arrest, detention or stop, misdemeanor B misusing 911, and misdemeanor D unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia.

Maries County Judge Kerry G. Rowden issued a warrant on June 10 for the five charges that were filed on June 9 by Maries County Prosecuting Attorney Tony Skouby.

“He has been charged and I am glad no one was seriously injured or killed and proud of deputies using the restraint they did,” Heitman said. “Had he pulled the knife a little quicker, I am sure he would have hurt someone. I hope the courts don’t let him out.”

Heitman said the judge will probably take into account that Stradford threatened the deputies’ families during sentencing.

“Right now I would anticipate 10 years for one charge alone and armed criminal action — he won’t come back out — which would be best for society,” Heitman said.

Heitman commented on Facebook that Stratford is a career criminal with his first real arrest prior to the sheriff being born.

“Stradford was first arrested in 1978 for robbery and obtained his first felony conviction in 1979,” Heitman wrote. “Since then, Stratford continued to be arrested and convicted of serious offenses including assault, unlawful use of a weapon, stealing a motor vehicle, arson, stealing, escape from custody, property damage, violation of an ex parte, resisting arrest, armed criminal action, domestic assault, drug possession, resisting arrest, causing the death of another, and the list goes on.”

Stradford is being held in the Maries County Jail without bond. An amended felony complaint was filed June 11, and he appeared in court before Rowden on June 12. The judge noted that the defendant was in custody during court and Stadford entered a plea of not guilty. The case has been set for deposition or trial setting for 10 a.m. on June 23. A preliminary hearing was held on Tuesday, June 16.

Maries-Phelps
motorcycle pursuit

Maries County Sheriff’s deputies on June 8 were involved in a pursuit of a couple on a motorcycle that began near the airport at Vichy.

Maries County Sheriff’s Deputy Jesse Dodd observed a motorcycle turn off Highway 28 onto Highway 63 without signaling. The motorcycle also had no visible registration. The deputy saw the female passenger tap the driver on the shoulder and point at the deputy. It was then that the motorcycle accelerated, speeding away, and failing to yield to Deputy Dodd’s emergency pursuit equipment.

The sheriff said the pursuit traveled county roads in the area of Highway FF until driving onto Highway A and Highway E. Once on Highway E, the driver turned onto County Road 8450 in Phelps County where he lost control on loose gravel, laying down the bike on its side in a ditch.

There was a short foot pursuit but both the driver and passenger were taken into custody.

After searching the area of the on-foot pursuit, a bag the female had been seen wearing was located in the ditch. It contained suspected methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia. The couple was taken to the Maries County Jail.

Maries County Prosecuting Attorney Anthony “Tony” Skouby has charged Justin Christopher, 26, of Summersville, with the felony of resisting/interfering with arrest, and the misdemeanors of fail to yield to emergency vehicle sounding siren and displaying red/blue light, operated a motor vehicle in a careless and imprudent manner, and fail to drive on right half of roadway when roadway was of sufficient width.

The prosecutor has also charged Candace A. Chilton-Gatten, 37, of Fulton, with the felonies of possession of a controlled substance and resisting/interfering with arrest for a felony, and misdemeanor unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia.

Heitman complimented Dodd for keeping supervisors aware of speeds throughout the pursuit. Since speeds remained under 85 mph on pavement and 45 mph on gravel, the decision was to continue the pursuit and the result is two individuals have been charged and drugs were taken off the street.

Four other deputies responded from Maries County and the 911 communications team. Phelps County Sheriff’s Deputies assisted with back up, the sheriff said.