Sheriff Scott Keeler reported deputies made seven arrests, issued a scam warning, took an assault report, and a burglary report during the week of Jan. 7-14, 2019.

Warrant Arrests

Robert Dutcher- On Jan. 13, Robert Dutcher, 49, Osceola, was arrested by a St. Clair County deputy on a class C misdemeanor assault in the fourth degree. Dutcher was booked and released pending formal charges.

The arrest comes after St. Clair County deputies were dispatched to the Amish Trading Post in reference to a domestic assault in progress. Robert Dutcher, Derrick Dutcher and an unknown third person came into the Amish Trading Post and started to threaten another male victim. Witness’s stated Robert Dutcher came inside the store and threw the first punch then had the male victim on the ground and was choking him when deputies arrived.

Derrick Dutcher- On Jan. 13, Derrick Dutcher, 27, Osceola, was arrested by a St. Clair County deputy on a class C misdemeanor assault in the fourth degree. Dutcher was booked and released pending formal charges.

The arrest comes after St. Clair County deputies were dispatched to the Amish Trading Post in reference to a domestic assault in progress. Derrick Dutcher along with Robert Dutcher and an unknown third person came into the Amish Trading Post and started to threaten another male victim. Witness’s statement stated Derrick Dutcher was throwing punches at the male victim.

Samuel Downs- On Jan. 11, Samuel Downs, 59, Sedalia, was taken into custody after a hearing was held to revoke his probation. Downs was sentenced to four years in the Missouri Department of Corrections. Execution of sentence suspended. Downs was placed on five years of unsupervised probation and sentenced to 15 days shock detention in the St. Clair County Jail. This is a no bond hold on an original class D felony non-support.

Nicholas Swoboda- On Jan. 10, Nicholas Swoboda, 35, Independence, was arrested on a St. Clair County warrant charging him with failure to appear in court on an original class D felony possession of a controlled substance and a class D misdemeanor unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia. Bond is set at $2,500 cash only.

The charges come after a St. Clair County deputy stopped a vehicle, that Swoboda was a passenger in, for faulty equipment on April 29, 2018. The driver of the vehicle gave the deputy consent to search the vehicle. During the search, Swoboda was walking around, holding up his pants in a strange manner. The deputy asked Swoboda if he would be willing to empty his pockets. After releasing his pants a pouch containing zip lock bags of a white crystal like substance, multiple syringes, and a glass pipe fell out of his pant leg. Swoboda admitted to the pouch and the stuff in it to be his. The zip lock bags field tested positive for methamphetamine.

Justin Swofford- On Jan. 8, Justin Swofford, 34, Osceola, was arrested on two St. Clair County warrants for probation violations on an original class C felony possession of a controlled substance, and an original class D felony possession of a controlled substance. Bond is set at $10,000 cash only.

The original charges stem from investigations by the St. Clair County Sheriff’s Office on April 4, 2014 and on Aug. 26, 2017.

West Ford- On Jan. 7, West Ford, 48, St. Ann, was taken into custody after pleading guilty to a class B felony possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance and a class C felony possession of a controlled substance. Ford was sentenced to six years in the Missouri Department of Corrections on counts one and two.

Sandra Marconi- On Jan. 7, Sandra Marconi, 48, Collins, was arrested on a St. Clair County warrant for a probation violation on an original class A misdemeanor fraudulent use of a credit/debit device. Bond is set at $1,000 cash or surety.

The charge stems from an incident on March 4, 2017. The sheriff’s office investigation started on April 3, 2017 when Amber Kindred reported fraudulent activity on her debit card issued to her with the balance of her tax refund from H&R Block. Information was received showing transactions from several dates in March totaling $200.43. Kindred stated Marconi made the transactions without authorization. Several of the receipts show payments made on accounts used by Marconi. Two of the receipts show Western Union money transfers from Kindred to Marconi. It was noted Marconi set up a Western Union account in Kindred’s name using Marconi’s e-mail address.

Disclaimer: Arrest records are public information. Any indication of an arrest does not mean the individual identified has been convicted of a crime. All persons arrested are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

Scam Warning

Another scam has hit our area again. This scam has a person calling your phone stating they are a relative and have been arrested out of state. The caller will make a plea to have you mail them around $5,000 dollars. If you do send them this money, you will receive another phone call stating they need even more money. They will continue these actions as long as you keep sending money. They target anyone that is willing to listen. The elderly folks tend to fall for these types of scams, unfortunately.

Please do not give out your personal information out over the phone to someone or a company you know nothing about. If it you get a strange feeling about a call, hang up.   

Burglary in El Dorado Springs

On Jan. 8, a St. Clair County deputy was dispatched to Black Jack Lumber on Highway J in reference to a burglary. Upon arrival, the deputy observed a wooden shed with a door lying on the ground along with screws from the door hinges. There was a table placed in front of the door.

The deputy spoke with Dennis Berning, who stated he was in charge of the property when the boss was not there. Berning stated he was last at the property at 11:45 Monday morning and everything was ok. Berning stated he arrived back on the property the morning of the 8th and observed the shed had been broken in to.

Berning had gone through the shed and the property to see what had been stolen. Berning advised an ESAB welder, a DeWalt impact wrench, a Stihl chainsaw, a Sears tool box, electrical wire and electric boxes, unknown amount of metal, drag chains, an aluminum roller bed, unknown hand tools, and 10 motors had been taken.

Evidence was collected from the scene.

Assault in Collins

On Jan. 7, a St. Clair County deputy was dispatched to a residence on Main Street in Collins in reference to an assault. Upon arrival, the deputy spoke with Amy Shull. Shull stated she had the door to the chicken coop open. She stated while she was in her garage cleaning it up, a small Chihuahua climbed into the coop and killed several chickens. Shull stated she chased the dog down the street while it was still carrying the chicken in its mouth. Shull stated she got on her four wheeler and drove to the neighbors residence and tossed one of the dead chickens on their front porch to show the dog owner it had killed her chickens.

Leeanne Seek filled out a request for prosecution against Amy Shull for throwing the dead chicken at her juvenile child that was on the porch. Seek denied it was her dog that killed the chickens, because her dog has a perimeter shock collar on it.

Sheriff Keeler urges those with any related information to these cases or any others to contact the St. Clair County Sheriff’s Office Tip Line, 417-646-5832, or email to tips@scsomo.org.

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