ST. CLAIR COUNTY SHERIFF

Sheriff Scott Keeler reported deputies made 12 arrests and took multiple reports during the week of March 17 through 24, 2020.

Warrant Arrests

Rex Gash- On March 23, Rex Gash, 49, Higginsville, was arrested on a St. Clair County warrant charging him with a class E felony property damage in the first degree. Bond is set at $15,000 cash or surety.

The warrant comes after a St. Clair County deputy was dispatched to Ninnescah Park in reference to property damage in February of 2020. Upon arrival, the deputy spoke with Steve Tyson. Tyson stated Gash was driving a Bobcat tractor through people’s yards, tearing out trees, and digging ditches along with tearing up the road.

Tyler Wilfong- On March 23. Tyler Wilfong, 22, Osceola, was arrested by a St. Clair County deputy on a class E felony domestic assault in third degree. Wilfong was booked and released pending formal charges.

The charges come after St. Clair County deputies were dispatched to NE 364 Road in reference to a domestic disturbance. Upon arrival, the deputies spoke with Wilfong. Wilfong stated he woke up to hear his wife yelling at his mother. Wilfong stated he tried to calm things down, but only made things worse. Wilfong said he was holding his wife when she hit Wilfong and punched a hole in the wall. Wilfong did admit to hitting his wife.

Brittany Wilfong- On March 23, Brittany Wilfong, 22, Osceola, was arrested by a St. Clair County deputy on a class E felony domestic assault in the third degree. Wilfong was booked and released pending formal charges.

The arrest comes after St. Clair County deputies were dispatched to NE 364 Road in reference to a domestic disturbance. Upon arrival, the deputies spoke with Tyler and Brittany Wilfong. Tyler stated he woke up to Brittany yelling at his mother. While trying to calm down the situation Brittany struck her husband and punched a hole in the wall.

Jewell Hosein- On March 20, Jewell Hosein, 36, Springfield, was arrested by a St. Clair County deputy on a class D felony possession of a controlled substance and a class A misdemeanor possession of marijuana/synthetic cannabinoid of 11-35 grams. Hosein was booked and released pending formal charges.

The arrest comes after a St. Clair County deputy performed a traffic stop on the vehicle Hosein was driving for a moving violation. While speaking with Hosein, the deputy could smell the odor of marijuana. The deputy asked if there was anything illegal in the vehicle. Hosein asked the passenger of the vehicle to hand her the marijuana from the passenger floorboard. Hosein then handed the marijuana to the deputy.

During the consensual search, the deputy located a glass pipe in the vicinity of the passenger seat.

The glass pipe did field test positive for methamphetamine.

Kimberly Hardwick- On March 20, Kimberly Hardwick, 20, Springfield, was arrested by a St. Clair County deputy on a class D felony possession of a controlled substance. Hardwick was booked and released pending formal charges.

The arrest comes after the vehicle Hardwick was a passenger in was pulled over for a moving violation. Upon contact with the driver, the deputy could smell the odor of marijuana. The deputy asked if there was anything illegal in the vehicle, the driver told the passenger to hand her the marijuana from the passenger floorboard.

During the consensual search, a glass pipe was located in the vicinity of the passenger seat.

While the search was being conducted, information was given that Hardwick was still n possession of narcotics. Hardwick was advised that if she were to bring anything illegal into the jail facility, she would be charged with more felonies. Hardwick did advise she had methamphetamine in her private area. A female deputy was on scene and had Hardwick retrieve the drugs from her person.

The glass pipe did field test positive for methamphetamine.

Valerie Newman- On March 20, Valerie Newman, 56, Collins, was arrested on a St. Clair County warrant charging her with a class D felony possession of a controlled substance and a class A misdemeanor unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia-prior drug offense. Bond is set at $15,000 cash or surety.

The warrant comes after St. Clair County deputies were dispatched to a residence on South 16th Street in reference to a possible domestic disturbance. Upon arrival, the deputies spoke with Jack Smith. One deputy spoke with Smith and got his side of the story. Smith stated it was a loud verbal argument.

The second deputy spoke with Newman. While speaking with Newman the deputy was observing some signs of narcotic use. The deputy asked Newman for consent to search her room. Newman gave consent. During the search, a short straw was located with a white crystal like residue on it. The straw did field test positive for methamphetamine. A plastic bag with a white crystal like substance was also located.

Jozef Baker- On March 19, Jozef Baker, 21, Hermitage, was arrested by a St. Clair County deputy on a class D misdemeanor driving while revoke/suspended. Baker was booked and released pending formal charges.

The arrest comes after a St. Clair County deputy performed a traffic stop on the vehicle Baker was driving for a moving violation. A record check revealed Baker had a suspended driver’s license.

Marcus Balthrope- On March 19, Marcus Balthrope, 38, Warrensburg, was arrested on a St. Clair County warrant charging Balthrope with a probation revocation. This is a no bond warrant.

The original charges stem from a traffic stop by the Missouri State Highway Patrol in May of 2013.

Samantha Leonard- On March 19, Samantha Leonard, 18, Weaubleau, was arrested on a St. Clair County warrant for a class B felony arson in the first degree. Bond is set at $20,000 cash or surety.

The warrant comes after St. Clair County deputies were dispatched to a residence on NE Highway B in reference to arson in February of 2020. Upon arrival, the deputies spoke with David Leonard. Leonard stated that his daughter, Samantha Leonard, and her boyfriend Ricky Sherlin Jr., had been to his residence earlier in the day. A domestic dispute occurred between the three parties. Samantha and Ricky left the residence.

A short time later, while David was sitting in the house, Samantha returned to the residence and argued with David. Samantha went to the upstairs of the residence. While exiting the residence, Samantha had an arm full of clothing.

After a few minutes, David could a crackling of a fire. David went to the upstairs and opened the storage room. Fire and smoke came out of the storage room.

Deputies collected photographs and evidence from the scene.

The deputies contacted the Fire Marshall out of Springfield to conduct an investigation.

James Helms- On March 18, James Helms, 37, Collins, was arrested by a St. Clair County deputy on a class E felony driving while revoked/suspended. Helms was booked and released pending formal charges.

The arrest comes after a St. Clair County deputy performed a traffic stop on the vehicle Helms was driving for an equipment violation. A record check revealed Helms had multiple priors for driving while revoked/suspended.

Timothy Kreisler- On March 18, Timothy Kreisler, 51, Clinton, was arrested by a St. Clair County deputy on a class A misdemeanor unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia-prior drug offense. Kreisler was booked and released pending formal charges.

The arrest comes after St. Clair County deputies performed a traffic stop on the vehicle Kreisler was driving for an equipment violation. The deputy asked for and was denied consent to search the vehicle. A K9 unit was dispatched to the scene. The K9 did an exterior sniff test of the vehicle and did alert to the odor of narcotics. During a search of the vehicle, a bag was located that contained a glass pipe. The glass pipe did field test positive for methamphetamine. Kreisler did admit to the glass pipe being his.

Jeremy Noble- On March 18, Jeremy Noble, 35, Clinton, was arrested on a St. Clair County warrant for a class D felony possession of a controlled substance and a class D felony unlawful possession of a firearm. Bond is set at $15,000 cash or surety.

The warrant comes after a St. Clair County deputy located Noble because of an outstanding Henry County warrant. While speaking with Noble, Noble asked if he could give his money to his girlfriend. During the exchange, the girlfriend was ordered to open the money. Inside the money was a plastic bag with a white crystal like substance. The substance did field test positive for methamphetamine. A rifle was located in the vehicle Noble was driving.

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.

Burglary in Collins

On March 22, a St. Clair County deputy was dispatched to a residence on SE 1025 Road in reference to a burglary. Upon arrival, the deputy spoke with Willard Kauffman. Kauffman stated someone took the wire off the gate to his fence and broke a lock off his smoke shack door. Kauffman stated nothing was missing.

Estimated loss value was not known at the time of this report.

Burglary in Osceola

On March 21, a St. Clair County deputy was dispatched to a residence on NE Highway U in reference to a burglary. Upon arrival, the deputy spoke with Warren Breshears. Breshears stated he seen where someone had dug a hole that led into his shed. There was a battery was connected to his four-wheeler that was not his and the fuse box on the four-wheeler had been cut. Breshears stated nothing else was missing.

Estimated cost of repairs was not known at time of this report.

Theft in Osceola

On March 18, a St. Clair County deputy was dispatched to a residence on NW 101 Road in reference to a suspicious vehicle. Upon arrival, the deputy spoke with Kimberly Carr. Carr stated she saw a green Dodge pick-up with a missing back window backed into her grandfather’s house. Carr stated her grandfather had passed a while back and that nobody lives at that residence. Carr observed a male subject exit the truck and place a large object into the bed of the truck.

The deputy and Carr walked around the residence. Carr stated only a window from a truck camper shell was missing. The deputy photographed the scene.

A subject has been named.

Encouraging News

Sheriff Scott A. Keeler, would like to announce, here at the St. Clair County Sheriff’s Office and Jail, there are no confirmed cases of COVID-19 among staff or jail inmates at this time.

The jail staff and support staff have taken extreme measures in disinfecting the facility. We are defending our ground the best we can against the COVID-19 virus!

New inmates that are being brought in to our facility are being thoroughly screened during the booking process to minimize the chances of bringing this virus in.

The jail has and will continue to suspend all inmate’s visitations for the foreseeable future.

We still continue to ask the public to please limit foot traffic into the office until further notice.

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.