A suspect has been arrested in connection with an incident at a Fast-Gas convenience store in Buchanan County on Sunday night, March 6.

Authorities say the suspect entered the Platte Valley Conoco at U.S. Highway 36 and 85th Road. As he was paying for an item, the suspect reached into the cash register, took cash, and fled in a red Jeep Cherokee driven by another individual. (click here)

The Buchanan County Sheriff’s Office put out surveillance photography depicting the suspect and the vehicle, in hopes of identifying the suspect. That effort has apparently paid off. On Tuesday, the department announced they had located and arrested the suspect.

His name was not released, pending the possible filing of criminal charges. Officials say the case will be submitted to the Prosecuting Attorney’s Officer for consideration of possible charges.

In a statement, Sheriff Mike Strong offered his thanks for help provided by the community.

A St. Joseph man is being held without bond after being accused of robbing a local bank over the weekend.

Terry Hager, 48 made his first court appearance Tuesday on a charge of felony first-degree robbery after a stickup Saturday at the UMBA Bank at 1211 N. Belt.  Hager appeared by video conference from the Buchanan County Law Enforcement Center.  Judge Keith Marquart denied bond for Hager because the court said it finds the defendant to be a danger to the community.  Bond had previously been set at $150,000 cash only.

According to court documents, Hager was out on a federal parole violation for a prior federal conviction for bank robbery at the time of his arrest.

A preliminary hearing in this case has been set for March 25.

 

The Missouri Department of Transportation is kicking off an enhanced pothole repair initiative starting Tuesday throughout the state. Through the rest of the month of March, maintenance crews are committed to repairing a pothole with asphalt as quickly as possible of it being reported.

MoDOT will aggressively respond and patch potholes to keep highways smooth and safe for Missouri motorists.

“We want to get asphalt in the hole as quickly as possible. If you report it in the morning, our goal is to repair it before you drive the same road the next business day,” said MoDOT State Maintenance Engineer Becky Allmeroth. “We know our aging infrastructure is prone to potholes this time of year, and we are making efforts to keep our roads as safe and smooth as possible.”

Motorists can report the location of potholes using the following tools:
· Call our 24/7 Customer Service Center at 1-888-ASK-MODOT (888-275-6636)
· Use our Report a Road Concern form on the web at www.modot.org
· Use your smart phone/tablet with a mobile friendly form at www.modot.org/roadconcern
· By email to comments@modot.mo.gov

MoDOT spends approximately $15 million a year on pothole patching with the majority of that during the month of March.

“On any given day in March, it would not be unusual to have 300 pothole patching crews on our state roadways,” said Allmeroth. “Please watch out for them and move over a lane to give them room to work.”

Potholes form when temperatures warm up during the day, but continue to be cold at night. This is the main cause of potholes in highways and why they are prevalent during spring season. The rain and snow from winter leave moisture that seep into the cracks and joints in the pavement. When temperatures drop, the water freezes and expands the pavement. This expansion causes the pavement to bulge and crack. When cars drive over the bulging pavement, it eventually causes chunks of pavement to pop out.

A man who pleaded guilty in January to playing a part in the stabbing death of a St. Joseph man found dumped in the Platte River in 2015 will spend nearly two decades behind bars.

Primalton Peterson III was sentenced Monday to serve 15 years for second-degree murder, five consecutive years for armed criminal action, and four concurrent years for abandonment of a corpse.

Prosecuting Attorney Dwight Scroggins said Peterson would be required to serve 85-percent of the sentence for second-degree murder before he would be eligible for parole.

Peterson and two others were charged with stabbing Richard Berry to death and dumping Berry’s body in the third fork of the Platte River in April of 2015 where he was later found.

Also charged were Kelli Hoard, 44 of Elwood, Kan. and Sean Liechti, 25 of St. Joseph.  Hoard pleaded guilty in October to a charge of second-degree murder and was sentenced to 20 years in prison.  Leichti also pleaded guilty to murder in the second degree and was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

 

 

The owner of St. Joe Guns is facing multiple felony charges after being accused of failing to pay more than $329,000 in sales tax to the State of Missouri.

Eric Worsham, 27 of St. Joseph was charged Friday in Buchanan County with three felonies for filing false sales tax returns, and five felonies for with intent to defraud.

According to court documents obtained by the St. Joseph Post, Special Agent Brittany Davenport with the Missouri Department of Revenue, Criminal Tax Investigation Bureau began investigating Worsham and St. Joe Guns located on Southwest US Highway 59 in St. Joseph for filing false sales tax returns and for failure to remit sales tax due.

In the probable cause documents, Davenport said she looked at sales tax that should have been collected from consumers from January 2013 through Sept. 2015.

“The total criminal sales tax liability of underpaid sales tax for Worsham of St. Joe Guns is three hundred eighty-eight thousand twent-nine dollars and sixty-one cents ($388,029.61),” Davenport said. “This figure includes the sales tax due, interest, additions and fraud penalties of Worsham.”

She said that tax registration records show St. Joe Guns has been in business as a gun store, selling merchandise to consumers since at least 2012.

“Worsham has filed seven (7) out of eight (8) annual and quarterly sales tax returns required since the inception of St. Joe Guns in 2012.  Worsham has only remitted the correct sales tax payments for three (3) sales tax periods out of eight(8) sales tax periods due to the state of Missouri,” Davenport said. “Since the proper sales tax amount has not been fully paid since 2012, Worsham has personally benefited from the tax dollars that were not remitted.”

Davenport said Worsham has used the money to pay for expenses and personal expenditures.

“For instance, recurring expenses including purchases to various retailers and eating establishments, including, but not limited to Wal-Mart, Menards and Amazon.com,” Davenport said.

In addition, she states that the department of revenue shows that in 2013 he purchased a 2003 Pace Trailer and a 2000 GMC Truck.

“This shows Worsham’s disregard of the laws of the state of Missouri, as related to the remittance of sales tax,” Davenport said. “Worsham purchased a vehicle and a trailer in 2013, but Worsham failed to pay the sales tax due on retail sales from St. Joe Guns in 2013.”

Davenport said on Dec. 8, 2015 she went to St. Joe Guns to try to make contact with Worsham.

“Upon my arrival, I made contact with an employee, who indicated that Worsham was the owner of the business, but that he worked full time for Gray Manufacturing,” Davenport said. “The employee advised that Worsham typically works at St. Joe Guns on the weekends.  I left a copy of the sales tax revocation letter previously mailed to Worsham of St. Joe Guns and my contact information.”

Then on Dec. 17 Davenport said she spoke with St. Joe Guns’s power of attorney and advised that she would like to set up a time to meet with Worsham.

“As of the date of this report, I have been unable to make contact with Worsham directly, in regard to an interview,” Davenport said.

A special prosecutor has been assigned to the case.  Andrew County Prosecuting Attorney, Steven Stevenson has been assigned by Judge Patrick Robb.

 

The Buchanan County Sheriff’s Department is asking the public for help in identifying two subjects and a vehicle connected with a Sunday night theft.

Just before 7 p.m. Sunday the sheriff’s department said a white man wearing a khaki colored hat, red long sleeve shirt, blue jeans and gray colored tennis shoes entered the Platte Valley Conoco gas station located at 36 Highway and 85th Road, and while paying for an item, he reached into the cash register, taking an unknown amount of cash.

The man then fled on foot to a nearby newer model Jeep Cherokee, which was being driven by an unknown

person. Anyone with information related to these individuals or the red Jeep Cherokee is asked to call (816) 238-TIPS.

A single-vehicle crash shut down the 3600 block of Pickett Road early Monday morning.

A black pickup truck careened through a fence, some trees and utility poles about a block west of the Belt before rolling into a ditch on the south side of the road.

Within an hour of the crash, authorities had not located the driver, and were unable to report whether anyone was hurt. Police at the scene said there was blood in the vehicle.

St. Joseph police alerted the public via a Nixel message about the road closure at about 2:46 a.m. The road reopened at about 5 a.m.

Candidates running for the St. Joseph School District Board of Education will take part in a forum this week at the East Hills Library.

The United Democrat Club will hold the forum Wednesday, March 9 at the East Hills Library theatre. Doors open at 6:30 p.m.; the forum begins at 7.

A total of 10 people are running for two spots on the board. That list includes:

Eric Bruder
Maggie Elder
Michael Dulcan
Tami Pasley
Teresa Simmons
Art VanMeter
Dr. Bryan Green
Sarah Hochschwender
John Paul Leo Stehr
Kathy Northup

There are two positions available with a three-year term.

Bruder filled the vacant spot in April left by the resignation of Dan Colgan whose term was set to expire in 2016. Board President, Brad Haggard’s term is also up in 2016.

The school board election, which is non-partisan, is set for April 5.

A woman who blazed a path for future women lawyers and a St. Joseph resident is being honored during Women’s History Month by the St. Joseph YWCA.

An event called the Amazing Grace Luncheon is being held in honor of Grace Day March 16th from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. at the YWCA in the Terrace Room. YWCA program director, Ellen Kisker said the luncheon will feature a showing of the documentary “Amazing Grace” which follows Day’s story as a local celebrity and a trailblazer for women.

“When she went to Law School at the university of South Dakota she was the only woman in her class of 170. That’s courageous. She faced many taunts and jeers and snide comments expecting her to quit anyday and she just wouldn’t put up with that,” Kisker said. ” She showed them that she was perseverant and determined to receive her degree and she did extremely well in that class.  I think she opened that field for many more women after her.”

Kisker said Day ended up in St. Joseph after meeting her future husband in law school.

“Out of the 170 men who probably did no want her there was one gentleman who did like her and was happy to know her, Milton Day and he was from St. Joe,” Kisker said. “He fell in love with her and she fell in love with him and when they graduated they moved back to St. Joseph.”

She passed the bar in 1959 and became one of the first women to practice law in St. Joseph However, graduating with a law degree and working in the field was a little more difficult at that time for a woman. Kisker said Day found a way to make it work.

“She couldn’t find a job because that was unheard of to have a woman in a law firm at that time and they were afraid that would drive away clients,” Kisker said. “She finally found a job but they expected her to do secretarial duties. That’s not what she wanted to do. She and her husband discussed it and she decided she was going to open her own practice. She couldn’t get any clients so she told the judges she would take client who couldn’t pay and of course this was back before we had public defenders. She became well-known quickly.”

Soon Kisker said, Day was recognized by a valuable lawyer and was then hired.  After working in the field for nearly 64 years Day retired in 2013 at the age of 88.

In honor of Day’s contributions the YWCA will honor her on March 16th with a luncheon. RSVPs for the luncheon are due by March 9th to the YWCA.  The cost is $10 dollars with lunch served by Pronto Cafe.  Individuals who simply want to view the documentary can do so free of charge. For more information CLICK HERE.