A teenager from Wathena pleaded guilty Wednesday to firearms charges stemming from a shooting at an underage drinking party in January. William Dowlen will be sentenced In September.

Another teen, Justice Joiner, was seriously injured by a gunshot wound to the leg in the incident. Dowlen, 17, told Judge Patrick Robb that he got beat up at the party. Dowlen said a friend gave him a 40-caliber Glock handgun. He told the judge he intended to fire the weapon into the ground to scare off his attackers. But he says the gun recoiled, and the second shot hit Joiner.

Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Ron Holiday told the judge that this was a large, unchaperoned, underage drinking party. Holiday said he believes Dowlen was involved in one of several fights that broke out during the party  outside a residence on Mount Zion Road.  Holiday said there were conflicting accounts of how many shots were fired. Holiday said Joiner has recovered pretty well, after multiple surgeries for his injuries. Holiday said Joiner has another surgery scheduled later this year.

Defense attorney Thomas McBride told the judge his client had only shot a firearm once before in his life, and had never fired a handgun before. McBride said Dowlen intended to fire twice into the ground. Judge Robb questioned Dowlen about why he didn’t go to trial and assert his right to self defense. Dowlen said he was worried about being found guilty of a more serious charge.

Robb found Dowlen guilty on one count of unlawful use of a firearm, a class-e felony.  The judge ordered a pre-sentencing assessment and scheduled sentencing September 15 at 11:30 am.

A Union Star man was sentenced to five years in prison for his role in the burglary of a county commissioner’s home. Jeffery Pendleton, 39, pleaded guilty June 30 to 2nd degree burglary, a class d felony. He admitted joining co-defendant Shannon Schremser in a break in at the home of Buchanan County Western District Commissioner Ron Hook on Mansfield Road in February.

Police said Schremser’s house was a “drug house” and a “neighborhood menace,” where stolen property was taken after a series of burglaries fueled by methamphetamine addiction.

Schremser, 22, pleaded guilty to this and another burglary, and was sentenced to probation with a 120-day shock treatment program, as we reported July 13.

Pendleton has at least two other burglary cases pending against him. On Wednesday Circuit Judge Patrick Robb followed the recommendation contained in a plea agreement, and ordered a five year sentence for the break in on Mansfield Road. When asked if he had anything to say to the court, he said “I apologize for my actions.”

Officials have said the Hook family lost a 2000 Lexus and other property in the burglary of their garage.  Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Joshua Bachman initially asked the judge to order $4,100 in restitution in the case.  But Pendleton’s lawyer Jared Welch told the court this was the first he’d heard of restitution.  The judge also said he’d have to see some evidence before he could order restitution.  After a brief conference between the lawyers, Bachman dropped his request for restitution.

A St. Joseph man on Wednesday pleaded guilty to setting off an explosive device on the front porch of a home on the Parkway, in what he called a drunken mistake and a prank.

As previously reported, that prank caused at least $22,000 and up to $32,000 damage to the home at 2402 NE Parkway.  Edward Catron, 20, pleaded guilty to a class-e felony count of knowingly exploding.  During the plea hearing Wednesday, Dowlen called it a “drunken mistake…intended to be a prank.” He said he had no intention to do that much damage.

Catron told Circuit Judge Patrick Robb he placed a “highly explosive firework” between the screen door and the main door, lit the fuse, and ran off. Prosecuting Attorney Dwight Scroggins wanted to make sure the judge was aware that these weren’t Black Cats. Investigators believe Catron went online to purchase a recipe and some potassium perchlorate, a volatile, rapid oxidizer, to make the bomb.

Catron faces up to four years in prison when he’s sentenced on September 11 at 3pm.

A St. Joseph man pleaded guilty Wednesday to a firearms charge, admitting he fired a shot into the air and then accidentally shot himself in the leg.

As we reported earlier, Curtis Hagey has been held without bail since his arrest June 6. Police said Hagey fired a shot into the air from his SUV outside a woman’s apartment, then shot himself, and then threw his gun out of his car window.He was charged with a class-e felony count of unlawful use of a firearm while intoxicated.

On Wednesday, Hagey, 24, pleaded guilty to one count of unlawful use of a firearm while intoxicated. He told Circuit Judge Patrick Robb he went to an apartment building parking lot on June 5, fired a shot into the air and then shot himself. Hagey said he was trying to put the gun into his pocket when it went off. He admitted being under the influence of marijuana, methamphetamine, benzodiasepines and opiates.

Judge Robb found Hagey guilty, ordered a pre-sentence report and scheduled sentencing September 8 at 11:30 am. Hagey faces up to a maximum prison term of four years.

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – The installation of signs and marking pavement will close a ramp and the passing lane of Interstate 29 at its junction with U.S. Route 71.

Local crews from the Missouri Department of Transportation plan to close the ramp from southbound U.S. Route 71 to southbound I-29 from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Thursday, July 20. During this time the passing lane of southbound I-29 just north of the junction with the ramp will also be closed. Motorists will need to use an alternate route during the closures.

The southbound passing lane of I-29 just north of the U.S. Route 71 southbound on ramp will be closed again on Friday, July 21 from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., but the ramp from southbound U.S. Route 71 will be open. Motorists on both U.S. Route 71 and I-29 should expect delays and may wish to seek an alternate route during the lane closure.

All work is weather permitting and subject to change. MoDOT encourages all motorists to slow down, buckle up, eliminate distractions and drive safely to ensure everyone is able to Arrive Alive.

For more information about this and other MoDOT projects, call 1-888-ASK-MODOT or visit modot.org/northwest.

A Stewartsville man was seriously injured in a one vehicle crash Tuesday night in DeKalb county.

According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol, 39-year-old Michael S. Sifers was driving a Chevrolet Impala south on Route N at Route O about two miles east of Clarksdale at 8:50 p.m. The vehicle traveled off the west side of the road and hit an embankment. The vehicle then went airborne, landed on the passenger side, rolled and came to rest on its top.

Sifers was transported to Mosaic Life Care in St. Joseph for treatment of serious injuries. According to the crash report, he was not wearing a seat belt.