March 24 – In the early morning hours on March 24, a St. Clair County deputy took a theft report at Shelby’s Convenience Store, Lowry City. An employee reported a customer came into the store to purchase a case of beer, a bottle of Fireball liquor, popcorn and Gatorade. The Fireball was behind the counter and given to the customer. After realizing it was too late to sell alcohol the individual was notified the alcohol could not be purchased due to the time. The employee took the beer back to the cooler while another employee finished the transaction. After purchasing the popcorn and Gatorade, the customer left the store, but did not return the bottle Fireball to the counter and instead took it. The employee attempted to catch the customer, but was too late. A suspect was named and a vehicle description was given. The case was forwarded to the Lowry City Police Department for further investigation. Donald Witt, 26, Rockville, was arrested on a St. Clair County warrant charging him with three felony counts, class D felony possession of a controlled substance, class E felony unlawful use of a weapon- possessing a weapon and a felony controlled substance, and class E felony of delivery of 35 grams or less of marijuana. Bond is set at $20,000 cash or surety. The charges stem from a St. Clair County Sheriff’s Office investigation the previous day when a deputy noticed a vehicle sitting at an angle in a field entrance on H Hwy with a male occupant leaning forward in the vehicle. During the investigation contact was made with the driver, Witt, and a pen was noticed in Witt’s lap. The pen appeared to have been used to snort illegal narcotics. Further investigation discovered what appeared to be a crystalline substance inside a modified light bulb lying under the driver’s seat. A metal container with two small bags of what appeared to be a crystalline substance was located inside the glove box. A Kel-Tec .380 caliber pistol containing six .380 rounds of ammunition in the magazine was located in the console. A black backpack containing two bags of marijuana, numerous unused small bags, q-tips and a digital scale was located in the trunk. Admissions were made and the substance in the light bulb field tested positive for methamphetamine. Witt was taken into custody and transported to the St. Clair County Jail. St. Clair County deputy took a burglary report on SW 1371 Rd, El Dorado Springs. An employee of Ash Grove Aggregates reported two trailers were broke into and damaged. Stolen items from the trailers included a computer tower, mouse, keyboard, trash can, master lock, scales, a coat, a pair of Reebok shoes, shoe/boot scraper, RCA am/fm-compact disk alarm clock, four compact disks, laptop charger, Bissell upright vacuum, Bissell convertible bagless vacuum, table lamp, box fan, 100’ green water hose, black water hose, 50’ yellow extension cord with red clamp, miniature golf cart clock, plastic container filled with quick connects and splitters for water hoses, plastic container with miscellaneous steel wool and brushes, wicker basket with miscellaneous tape and office supplies, several new rolls of blue shop towels, jack handles, pliers, paint brushes, wire brushes with wooden handles, caulking gun, tubes of caulk, large black electrical plug for trailer, gloves, and miscellaneous cleaning supplies. The total value of the items was estimated at $1,655. St. Clair County deputy took a report in reference to a stolen firearm. Chaz Epperson reported he was going fishing and unloaded his boat and parked his truck at Crow’s Crossing, Osceola. Epperson described the firearm as a Savage 17 HMR. The rifle has a customized wooden stock, a pistol grip, a bull barrel on it and a BSA Sweet 17 scope. He estimated the value of the rifle and scope at $700. March 27- Derrell Deramus, 23, Springfield, was arrested on a Henry County warrant for failing to appear in court on a class A misdemeanor charge of possession of marijuana. The warrant was issued Nov. 16, 2016, and bond is set at $500 cash or surety. The original charge stems from a Missouri State Highway Patrol investigation on Dec. 6, 2015. March 28 – Keri Wright, 23, Appleton City, was arrested on two St. Clair County warrants for failing to appear in court on ordinance violations of no registration and driving while revoked. The warrants were issued on March 20 and stem from an Appleton City Police Department investigation in June 2016. Bond is set at $455.50. March 29 – Michael Helm, 32, El Dorado Springs, was arrested on a St. Clair County warrant for failing to appear in court on an original class B felony burglary-first degree. Bond is set at $10,000 cash only. Helm was also arrested on a no bond parole violation warrant on an original charge of driving while revoked from Jasper County. March 30 – St. Clair County warrant was issued for Brandon Vanblaricon, 37, Clinton, charging him with class C felony possession of a controlled substance and class A misdemeanor unlawful possession of an illegal weapon. Bond is set at $20,000 cash or surety. The charges stem from a St. Clair County Sheriff’s Office investigation on Nov. 28, 2016, when deputies were dispatched to Countyside Trading Post, Osceola, in reference to a male subject passed out over the steering wheel of his vehicle. The vehicle was at the gas pumps and had been there for approximately one hour. When the deputies arrived on scene contact was made with Vanblaricon, who was in the driver’s seat. During the investigation a set of brass knuckles and a plastic bag containing a substance that field tested positive for methamphetamine were located in his possession. Taha Merghani, 23, Jackson, Miss., was arrested on a St. Clair County warrant charging him with class A misdemeanor resisting arrest, and class B misdemeanor exceeding posted speed limit by 26 miles per hour or more. Bond is set at $5,000 cash only. The charges stem from a St. Clair County Sheriff’s office investigation during the late night hours on March 28 when a deputy observed a vehicle traveling north on Hwy 13 approaching Hwy TT. The vehicle appeared to be traveling at a high rate of speed. A check indicated the vehicle was traveling at 101 miles per hour in a 65 mile per hour zone. A traffic stop was conducted and Merghani stated his reason for speeding was he was trying to get to a conference in Kansas City. The deputy started to issue Merghani a citation for careless and imprudent driving and he refused to sign the citation. He was informed if he did not sign the citation then he would be arrested and taken to jail to assure his appearance for court. Merghani still refused to sign. The deputy attempted to place him under arrest and Merghani tried to pull away, fell to the ground and continued to pull away. He stood up and continued to try and get away. The deputy and an Osceola Police Department officer assisted him to the ground where he continued to try and get up. They were able to get Merghani into custody and he was transported to the St. Clair County Jail. St. Clair County deputies took a burglary report on SW 871 Rd, El Dorado Springs. A neighbor reported the owner of the property is Mae Miller and he keeps an eye on her property. It was noted a refrigerator was missing and there was a broken grill lying in the ditch. The total value of the items was estimated at $429. April 2 – St. Clair County deputy took a shoplifting complaint from an employee at Dollar General, Appleton City. The employee reported an unknown white male, possibly in his thirties, wearing a dark colored baseball hat, dark colored shirt and dark colored zip up jacket entered the store with an empty plastic bag. He wandered around the store for a few minutes picking up various items and placing them in the bag. Items included a black wallet, Tide detergent pods, a cell phone power bank, and a cell phone charger. There was another unknown item placed in the bag. A short time later the individual brought the bag up to the cash register and stated he wanted to return the items inside his bag. The cashier told the individual he did not have the items in the bag when he entered the store. The man insisted they were and advised employees to look up security footage to prove his story. The items were left near the register and the video footage was checked. The video allegedly showed the man pull an empty plastic Dollar General bag from a rack and enter the store with the bag in his pocket. It showed the man take items off the shelf and place them into the bag before proceeding to the register. While employees were viewing the video, the man went back to the counter, pulled the bag from his jacket pocket, filled it with the same items, and walked out of the store without paying for any of the items. A request for prosecution was signed and the value of the items was estimated at $50.

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