Charges filed in recent suspect pursuits
TONY BROWN/DAILY FORUM
Nodaway County Sheriff’s Deputy Travis Cochenour escorts Charles Stagner toward the entrance of the Nodaway County jail shortly after Stagner and Bronson Vestal, both of St. Joseph, were arrested for allegedly trying to elude law enforcement in a vehicle pursuit through parts of three counties.
Felony charges have been filed by Nodaway County Prosecuting Attorney Robert Rice in the wake of a high-speed chase Monday in which two suspects from St. Joseph allegedly sought to evade police while driving a stolen white Cadillac automobile.
According to court documents, one of the defendants, Bronson Vestal, 25, was allegedly found in possession of two hypodermic syringes containing methamphetamine residue.
Sheriff Darren White said the two men were also in possession of a bulletproof vest, gloves and masks.
Vestal, who was being held in the Nodaway County jail on $25,000 bond, faces charges of tampering with a motor vehicle, possession of a controlled substance, resisting a lawful stop and possession of drug paraphernalia. All of the charges are felonies except paraphernalia possession, which is a Class A misdemeanor and carries a maximum sentence of one year in jail and a $1,000 fine.
The felony charges carry maximum prison sentences of either two to seven years or two to four years.
A second defendant, Charles Stagner, 26, is believed to have been Vestal’s passenger during the chase, which lasted from about 7:30 a.m. to 8 a.m. and took place on highways, lettered blacktops and gravel roads winding through southeastern Nodaway, northern Andrew and western Gentry counties.
Stagner, who was being held in the Nodaway County jail on $15,000 bond, faces a single felony charge of receiving stolen property — namely the Cadillac — which is punishable by two to seven years in state prison.
Rice has also filed a felony charge in connection with another chase that occurred Sunday evening inside the Maryville city limits.
The suspect, Robert T. Bodle, 29, Ravenwood, has been released on bond and is accused of resisting a lawful stop by a police officer.
In a probable cause statement filed with the court, Maryville Public Safety Officer Seth Rucker claims Bodle was operating a white 2006 Chrysler 300 automobile with expired plates and a non-functioning driver’s-side headlight.
Bodle allegedly failed to yield to a patrol car’s flashing lights and sirens in the 100 block of East South Avenue, initiating a high-speed pursuit and failing to stop at several controlled intersections before pulling into a private drive near the intersection of North Alvin and East Second Street.
If convicted, Bodle could serve between two and four years in state prison.
TONY BROWN/DAILY FORUM
Nodaway County Sheriff’s Deputy Travis Cochenour escorts Bronson Vestal toward the entrance of the Nodaway County jail shortly after Vestal and Charles Stagner, both of St. Joseph, were arrested for allegedly trying to elude law enforcement in a vehicle pursuit through parts of three counties.
