A man who police say was smoking pot and revving his engine while in possession of $4,125 in cash, a lot of methamphetamine and the means to distribute says it wasn’t his. But the prosecutor doesn’t believe him, and the judge sentenced him to five years in prison.

Jonathan Hatheway was originally charged with drug trafficking, but a lab report led prosecutors to reduce that charge to possession, after it was determined that the amount of the drug did not rise to the level of a trafficking charge.

As we reported, he was arrested largely because of a noise complaint, when neighbors in the 2800 block of Sylvanie reported a man in a vehicle repeatedly revving his engine.  Investigators say there was a loaded handgun found in the car, along with a lot of meth, some marijuana, a digital scale and some plastic baggies.

In court Thursday Hatheway said he was having car trouble.  He admitted he was drunk and high.  But he added that he had given a ride to another man, and that man claims the meth was his and had been left in the car. Hatheway says he got the cash from his roofing job.

Prosecutor Ron Holiday pointed out that Hatheway fled on foot when confronted by police, indicating he knew he was guilty.  Holiday says the struggle left the officer’s radio broken and his knee injured.

Judge Daniel Kellogg sentenced the defendant to five years in prison.

A St. Joe man pleaded guilty to burglary charges Thursday for an incident that led to the evacuation of an east-side neighborhood and an hours-long standoff with police.

Christopher Chappell was charged with second-degree burglary for entering the victim’s home in the 1000 block of Carol Drive without permission on March 31 and holding her and police at bay for several hours.

As we reported, the woman had taken out a protection order barring him from having contact with her. In a probable cause affidavit, investigators say Chappell threatened the woman, saying he was going to “see bullets in her head.” But she was in court Thursday, and the pair appeared to be on friendly terms.

Chappell remains in custody awaiting sentencing June 22nd.

A woman charged with stealing after a break in at Eagles Field Monday appeared before a judge Monday.

Kallista Allen was charged with misdemeanor stealing for the incident. As we reported, police believe Allen convinced two men to break into the concession stand at 2303 Marion Road on Monday. They allegedly took candy, soda, Gatorade, and baseball equipment, then loaded it into a John Deere Gator that was also stolen.

Allen told Associate Circuit Judge Rebecca Spencer she has applied for a public defender. Bail was set earlier at $1,000 cash plus a $9,000 surety bond. Allen seemed surprised, and broke down into tears when Judge Spencer refused to reduce bail.

The judge scheduled the case for the trial setting docket June 1. Allen remains in custody in the Buchanan County Jail. According to online court records, the warrants against the two alleged accomplices have not yet been served.

A 53-year-old St. Joseph man pleaded guilty Thursday to charges he hit his roommate in the head with a golf club.

“A person I was living with, I hit him with a golf club,” said Levester Harvey. “He said something that made me upset,” he said, but added about his response “I chose to do it the wrong way.”

Levester Harvey of St. Joseph will be sentenced in June. His lawyer asked the judge to reduce Harvey’s bail so he wouldn’t be evicted and lose all his belongings.

Bail was originally denied, then reduced to $7,500 surety. On Thursday Judge Kellogg reduced that to a $4500 signature bond, provided Harvey has no contact with the victim. Harvey will be sentenced on one class-e felony count of 3rd degree domestic assault on June 22.

A man convicted of clubbing a close friend in the head says he’s sorry, that he doesn’t remember the incident, and says it was his return to St. Joe that returned him to his earlier alcohol and drug problem. A judge on Thursday ordered Lawrence Lake to serve seven years in prison.

On March 28, Lake was convicted by a jury on a charge of second-degree assault, a class-c felony. He was convicted of beating his friend over the head with what was first described by police to be a pipe, but turned out to have been a large stick.

Witnesses said Lake attacked Randal Riley on August 27, 2016, knocking him unconscious and causing serious head injuries. Lake told the judge that he still considers Riley a close friend. He said his life has been “a long patten of ups and downs and ups and downs and ups and downs.”

“I have no doubt alcohol is the problem,” he said. “I regret what happened but I don’t remember it.”

The victim suffered a serious head gash in the attack.

During a sentencing hearing Thursday, Judge Daniel Kellogg told Lake that “at best” he was a “careless drunk,” and “at worst a mean drunk.” He ordered a seven year prison term to include a long-term treatment program.

A tornado watch continues in effect until tonight for a large area of Northwest Missouri.

The National Weather Service says the watch remains in effect until 10pm.

The watch lists the following counties in our area in Missouri: Buchanan, Caldwell, Clay, Clinton, Livingston, and Platte (among others). In Kansas the counties include Atchison, Doniphan, Johnson, Leavenworth and Wyandotte.

At 5:40 p.m., weather-service radar showed a large storm system central Kansas and Oklahoma moving north-northeast.

The Buchanan County Sheriff’s Office is warning of a man impersonating a deputy and demanding financial information.

Officials say the man identifies himself as James Marshall in telephone calls to citizens, and says they have an arrest warrant.

The scammer goes so far as to give out a fictitious judge, courtroom and court date, and threatens people with arrest unless they give financial information so a voucher can be issued.  Officials say there are variations of that scam being offered to the people he calls.

“This is a scam,” the Sheriff’s Office alert says.  “Do not give any personal or financial information James Marshall.”  They urge you never to divulge your date of birth, social security number, credit or debit card number, security codes or bank account numbers.

“James Marshall is not a deputy sheriff,” officials say.  “The Buchanan County Sheriff’s Office also does not solicit financial information for arrest warrants over the telephone.

If you are unsure that someone is calling from the Sheriff’s Office, you should contact them directly to verify if it is a legitimate call.

 

A traffic accident has force the closure of U.S. Highway 36 in Doniphan County, Kansas.

According to a Nixle alert, at 4:43 p.m., the highway was closed between Troy,Kansas and K7 Highway.

Traffic was being re-routed via 190th Road.  One person was injured, and was taken to the hospital.  Additional details were not immediately available.  Refresh this post for additional information as it becomes available.

 

Pony Express Baseball has launched a GoFundMe page to help raise money to replace items recently stolen from Eagles Field.

As we reported, three people were charged with misdemeanor stealing for the break in May 15. Authorities say they took baseball equipment, concession items and a utility vehicle.

Mike McCallister of Pony Express says many of the items were recovered but are either being held as evidence or are no longer of value. McCallister says some of the stolen goods were refrigerated items or cannot be put up for sale because they no longer have them.

The group is hoping for donations to help them recover the lost goods and equipment, pick up additional equipment, and to repair damages and improve security after the break in.

Find the GoFundMe page here.