Andrew County shooting suspects make first court appearance

Two people charged after officers were shot at from a moving vehicle during a chase in Andrew County over the weekend made their first court appearance Monday.

Tyler W. Despain, 22 and Jessica J. Harbord, 24, both from St. Joseph, Mo., were each charged in Andrew County with two counts of Attempted Murder, two counts of Assault of a Law Enforcement Officer, Armed Criminal Action, Unlawful Use of a Weapon, Felony Resisting Arrest, Felony Possession of a Controlled Substance and several misdemeanor charges.

According to court documents, around 3:22 a.m. Saturday K-9 Deputy Daniel Glidden with the Andrew County Sheriff’s Department was on patrol on County Road 400 in Andrew County when he saw a Jeep Cherokee with no front plates.

“I initiated a traffic stop on the vehicle on County Road 401 with my emergency lights and siren activated and the vehicle failed to yield to my emergency equipment and fled the scene at which point I began pursuing the vehicle with Deputy Elam following behind me,” Glidden said.

He said the pursuit continued through Andrew County, into Holt County and onto Route U Highway.

“The driver, later identified as W/M Tyler Despain put his hand out of the driver’s window holding a gun in his hand and fired approximately 4 rounds towards myself and Deputy Elam while we were actively in pursuit. I observed the muzzle as he was discharging the weapon towards us,” Glidden said.

The pursuit traveled onto I-29 at a high rate of speed.

“The pursued vehicle drove off the east side of the road into the timber near the 63.4 mile marker, where the both occupants fled the scene on foot,” Glidden said.

Despain and Harbord were later found and arrested near Davis Road Side Park on 59 Highway in Andrew County.

Harbord appeared in person in Andrew County Monday for an arraignment. A case review has been set for April 12.

Despain also appeared in person Monday for an arraignment. Online court document said the arraignment was incomplete due to the defendant being uncooperative. A new arraignment for Despain has been set for April 12.