Roderick Ellis appeared in court Tuesday morning by video conference from the Buchanan County Jail for charges stemming from last week’s 11-hour long standoff at Motel 6 in St. Joseph.

Ellis, 44 of St. Joseph is charged with felonies for kidnapping, first-degree domestic assault, and armed criminal action.

According to court documents on Oct. 14 Ellis forced the victim identified by police as Rebecca Urban, 41 of St. Joseph at gunpoint to take him to Motel 6 after jumping from the bushes and surprising her where she worked in the 4000 block of Gene Field road.

“The defendant pointed a loaded firearm at the victim and made her park the vehicle,” Detective Jeff Pearl with the St. Joseph Police Department said. “When they arrived at that location the victim screamed for help and the defendant shot her in the right forearm causing serious physical injury.”

Pearl said Ellis then forced her to go into room 205 and held her in the room for more than 11 hours refusing to allow her to leave or gain medical attention.

“During this time the defendant held the victim at gunpoint and threatened to kill her several times,” Pearl said.

When officers attempted to rescue Urban, Pearl said Ellis shot several times through the door and window nearly hitting several officers outside.

Several businesses were closed for the duration of the standoff or placed on lockdown in the area.  A section of I-29 was also closed to traffic due to the proximity to the hotel and in the line of fire.

A preliminary hearing has been scheduled in the case for Nov. 12.  Ellis is being held without bond.

 

 

Gas prices in St. Joseph came in higher than most places across the nation according to the latest numbers from AAA.

The National Average for a gallon of regular unleaded dropped down six cents in a week to $2.25 a gallon.  Gas in St. Joseph did make a three cent drop but it was still higher then the US average by a cent Monday morning at $2.26 a gallon.

That also makes St. Joe still the most expensive metro to fuel up in in Missouri with the state average at $2.11.

We tracked the averages out for a month and found that for more than a month St. Joseph has been the most expensive place to fuel up in, that’s according to AAA.

So we made some phone calls to try to find out why.

Speedy’s Convenience Store Office in St. Joseph declined to talk because their representative said she was too busy for an interview.

A representative with St. Joe Petroleum said at the end of the year their numbers even out. He said sometimes gas is lower than Kansas City and sometimes it’s higher but reporters don’t call when St Joe prices are lower.  He declined a voice interview.

The cheapest place to fuel up in Missouri Monday was St. Louis. The average was $1.91 a gallon, .35 cents cheaper than St. Joseph.

We did find several gas stations around town selling for $2.19, that’s less than the average.  CLICK HERE for Q-Country Gas Prices.

 

A St. Joseph man is facing numerous charges in Andrew County for endangering the welfare of a child and unlawful use of a weapon.

28-year-old Nathan Duane Stanton is charged with four felonies for unlawful use of a weapon and two felonies for endangering the welfare of a child. According to court documents, Andrew County K-9 Deputy Daniel Glidden said he and two other officers were dispatched on Oct. 14 to the 600 block of St. Mary’s St. in Bolchow, Mo. around 11:30 p.m.

“In reference to a subject that just shot out a window of this residence and is running around Bolchow acting like a crazy person,” Glidden said.

After arriving at the home Glidden said he spoke to a man sweeping glass off of the porch.

“Nathan Stanton came over to his residence and punched the window out on their front door and also fired 5 rounds from a handgun towards his house and the ground in front of his house,” Glidden said.

According to court documents there were also two children, a 5-year-old boy and a 4-year-old girl asleep inside the home at the time.

“While talking to Nathan he stated that he went over to his sister’s, Jessica Stanton and Howard Smith’s residence to confront Howard,” Glidden said. “He stated that he walked up to the front door of the house and punched out the front screen door window trying to get to Howard.  He stated that when he punched the window that he went to get his gun out of his holster on his side and the gun went off ‘accidentally’ with Howard standing inside the front door of the house.  Nathan said that he was so drunk he really has no idea what happened and that he was just trying to scare Howard.”

Bond was set at $25,000 cash or court approved surety.

 

A couple who lost four children in a Trenton house fire earlier this year is now facing child endangerment charges in a separate case.

Jamie Hughes, 26 and Timothy Hughes, 25 have each been charged with a misdemeanor in Livingston County for endangering the welfare of a child. Timothy was also charged with a felony for resisting or interfering with arrest. The charges were filed Oct. 6 in connection with their two other children who have since been taken into protective custody.

According to court documents the Chillicothe Police Department responded to the couple’s home in Chillicothe to assist the Department of Family Services on a hotline call for a welfare check.

Officer Jodi Huber said when he arrived Jamie and her 2-year-old son were asleep in the recliner in the living room.

“I walked into the bedroom with J. Hughes to retrieve information as to her son’s doctor,” Huber said.“Upon entering the bedroom I observed a hand rolled partially burnt cigarette on the floor next to the bed.  I picked it up and smelled it; based on my training and experience I believed the cigarette to be marijuana.”

After a consented search of the house Officer Huber and Officer Josh Miller said they found burnt marijuana cigarettes in the living room, near the 9-year-old’s bed, and on a toy box.

“Three marijuana cigarettes were also found on a partition in the living room near where the two year old was sleeping,” Miller said.

“The marijuana cigarettes located were in the reach of both children living in the house,” Huber said.

Miller said both parents said they did not have money to provide necessary medications for the children.

“Officers located multiple prescriptions for Timothy, including Xanax and Tylenol with codeine,” Miller said. “It should be know that (one of the children) has breathing difficulties and the parents stated they were unable to purchase an inhaler for the child due to health insurance reasons.”

Miller said when he went to arrest Timothy he resisted.

When the Department of Family Services went to retrieve the two-year-old Miller said the child did not awaken from the loud noise of Timothy resisting and had to be woken up.

“Woke up in a dazed state and did not appear to be responding appropriately for a child of that age,” Miller said. “Bruises were found on the child’s body and it appeared that the child could have been under the influence of unknown medications.”

The Department of Family Services took the child to Hederick Medical Center for medical treatment and Officer Huber assisted the Department of Family Services worker with removing the other child from school.

Court documents recognize Timothy as the father and guardian to four children that were killed in a house fire in Trenton in May.

7-year-old Rosanna, 6-year-old Rolanda, 4-year-old Mason and their cousin 3-year-old Saylem were all trapped on the second floor when it caught fire. Five other people inside the house were able to escape. The fire was ruled accidental by the Missouri Fire Marshall’s Office.

A preliminary hearing is set for Jamie and Timothy for Oct. 21.

7:30 p.m. – The hostage situation at Motel 6 has ended and I-29 is open for travel.

A more than 11 hour long standoff in St. Joseph was resolved around 7:30 p.m. Wednesday.

According to Capt. Jeff Wilson a man is in custody and a woman has been transported to Mosaic Life Care for treatment of her injuries.

Earlier in the day, James Fisher who works at Eagle Radio across the highway from Motel 6 said he heard a shot fired.

“When we were arriving at work another co-worker and I were coming into the parking lot and we heard what we though was a gunshot,” Fisher said. “So we walked across the parking lot and saw a woman running across the Motel 6 parking lot and watched that for several minutes then realized that there was something going on there.”

Bob Dobson was staying at Motel 6 when it was evacuated.

“At about 8:30 or 8:40 the police came to my door and said I had to leave right now,” Dobson said. “I said I’m not dressed yet they said just grab your stuff, grab your wallet and let’s go.”

Around 9:45 a.m. the Missouri State Highway Patrol blocked off I-29 northbound and southbound lanes from I-229 to 169 where traffic was diverted.  Police said the closure was due to the proximity of the highway to the motel and were concerned with the possibility of gunshots over the highway.  Frederick was also closed off from Woodbine to Buckingham St.  Several businesses near the Motel including Dennys and Red Lobster were also closed for the day due to the incident.

All roadways have since been reopen after the 10 plus hour closure.

Law enforcement personnel with the Missouri State Highway Patrol, Buchanan County Sheriff’s Department, St. Joseph Police Department, ATF, Bomb Squad and Special Response team responded to the situation.  Robots could be seen on top of the motel.