(Update) – Four people are in custody after baseball equipment, concession items and a utility vehicle were taken from Eagles Baseball Field Monday afternoon.

According to Sgt. Brett Kelley with the St. Joseph Police Department, the concession stand and storage shed were broken into between 1:30 and 3 p.m. Monday and several items were taken including a John Deere utility vehicle.

According to the Pony Express Baseball Facebook page, approximately $4,500 worth of items were taken.

Commander Eric Protzman said three men, ages 19, 24 and 33 and one woman age 26 have been taken into custody.  He said charges are pending. 

In a post on Facebook, Mike McAllister, Pony Express Baseball President said within 30 minutes of their original post, the had replies that led to the arrest of the individuals involved.  He said all games are as scheduled and they will be working to get the concession stand back open.

Many of the items including the Gator have reportedly been recovered.

The Board of Governors at Missouri Western State University renewed its contract with Royall & Company to provide enrollment management support during a special meeting May 15. The contract renewal is for two years, fiscal years 2018 and 2019, with the ability to opt-out for the second year, according to school officials.

Missouri Western contracted with Royall & Company last year to address ongoing enrollment challenges.

Among other services, Royall has provided Missouri Western with an expanded pool of prospective students, helped the university communicate to those prospective students earlier in the college selection process and streamlined the university’s application process.

Missouri Western will pay Royall & Company $321,328 in the first year and $322,740 in the second year.

Also in the special meeting, the Board of Governors approved the purchase of two Daikin Air Handling units for the first and second floors of Popplewell Hall. The units will be purchased for $201,304 through The Cooperative Purchasing Network. The installation of the units will be bid separately. The project is funded by Building Affordability, the 2015 legislation that appropriated $4.8 million to Missouri Western for capital improvements.

A caregiver who admitted using a credit card stolen from her patient was sentenced to four years probation Monday and ordered to make restitution. If Megan Graf successfully completes the requirements ordered by Circuit Judge Patrick Robb, her record will not reflect the conviction on forgery charges.

Court documents asserted the 20-year-old St. Joseph woman worked for a local home health company and was the victim’s caretaker. An investigator said he found the victim’s ID and credit card in Graf’s purse.

Court documents said security video at two stores showed the defendant using the stolen credit card and signing the victim’s name to the receipt. She pleaded guilty March 27.

Judge Robb suspended imposition of sentence and ordered four years probation to be supervised by the state’s Board of Probation and Parole. He said Graf must maintain full-time employment, but not in home health care. The court used the defendant’s cash bail to pay $83.59 in restitution.

A Circuit Judge has again denied bail for a man accused of opening fire on two men trying to recover a stolen vehicle.

Zachary Bixby is charged as a prior offender and faces enhanced sentencing guidelines if convicted on a charge of unlawful use of a weapon. Bixby waived his formal circuit court arraignment Monday, and Judge Patrick Robb scheduled the case for the trial-setting docket May 26.

Judge Robb denied another request to set bond in the case, ruling for the second time that Bixby is a danger to the community.

According to court documents, Bixby was spotted at a business on King Hill Ave. on April 8 by two people who said they knew the vehicle he was driving was stolen. The witnesses pursued the vehicle to the 9000 block of U.S. Highway 59. Bixby allegedly pulled the vehicle over, got out and fired several shots at the witnesses. One shot hit the hood of the witnesses’ vehicle, according to court documents.

He then allegedly fled on foot to a nearby house, where investigators said he threatened the homeowner and took a pickup truck. According to a court affidavit, that vehicle got stuck in the mud in a nearby field and Bixby was arrested.

As we reported earlier, according to the amended complaint, Bixby has a prior felony conviction in 2012 on a charge of possession of a controlled substance.

Bixby is also charged in Clay County with trying to run down a uniformed police officer after an alleged shoplifting incident at a store in Gladstone, Mo. (click here)

A St. Joe man accused of sexually abusing a 16-year-old girl appeared in court Monday for circuit court arraignment on sodomy charges.

Police accused William Marshall, 41, of performing “oral sexual activities with the child victim,” according to a court affidavit. He’s charged with 1st degree sodomy, an unclassified felony. There have been two change-of-judge orders in the case. On Monday, Marshall appeared before Circuit Judge Patrick Robb.

Marshall waived formal arraignment and entered a plea of not guilty.

Judge Robb scheduled the case for the trial-setting docket call May 22 and agreed to hear a motion to reduce bond at that time. Marshall is currently being held in the Buchanan County Jail, unable to post a $25,000 with a $5,000 cash deposit.

A St. Joseph man is accused of firing a handgun into the air outside of the Hi-Ho Bar after a disturbance.

Justin Helms, 29 is charged in Buchanan County with a class-E felony of unlawful use of a weapon.

According to court documents, Helms was allegedly involved in a disturbance with several other people  inside the Hi-Ho Bar located at 1817 Frederick Ave., Friday around 12:30 a.m.

“The three parties left the bar and got into a red 2011 Ford F250.  Helms got into the truck but then exited again.  He took a handgun from the truck and fired about three rounds into the air.  He then got back into the truck and the three parties left the area,” said Detective Jeff Pearl with the St. Joseph Police Department.

Det. Peal said when officers made contact with Helms he had a blood alcohol content level of .160%.

“The defendant displayed a handgun and fired it indiscriminately into the air placing numerous people in danger of serious physical injury or death,” Pearl said.

Helms is currently being held without bail after online documents state the court found the defendant to be a danger to the community.  He’s due in court Tuesday for an arraignment.

Two Maryville residents were injured, one seriously, in a crash Sunday afternoon near Quitman.

According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol, 40-year-old James D. Gabbert was driving a 1984 GMC pickup south on Eagle Road about three miles east of Quitman around 5 p.m. Sunday. At the intersection of 240th Street, the vehicle traveled off the road, hit a ditch and came to rest in a field.

A passenger in the vehicle, 26-year-old Meghann P. Parshall of Maryville was taken to SSM-St. Francis Hospital in Maryville for treatment of serious injuries. Gabbert was also transported to the hospital in Maryville for treatment of moderate injuries.

According to the crash report, neither was wearing a seatbelt.