Charges filed in high-speed chase
Nodaway County Prosecuting Attorney Robert Rice filed multiple felony and misdemeanor charges Tuesday against two suspects arrested Monday at Route U and Highway 71 seven miles south of Maryville following a high-speed chase that began in Burlington Junction.
According to court documents, Jerry Joe Gilpatrick, 32, St. Joseph, who allegedly sought to evade officers as the driver of an older-model green Lincoln Continental, has been charged with resisting or interfering with a lawful stop, a Class D felony; unlawful possession of a firearm, a Class C felony; tampering with physical evidence, a Class D felony; receiving stolen property, a class C felony; possession of a controlled substance, a Class C felony; misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia; misdemeanor driving with a revoked license; and misdemeanor failing to obey a sheriff or deputy sheriff.
Charges against the second suspect, Steven Wesley Stains Jr., 39, St. Joseph, include resisting or interfering with a lawful stop, a Class D felony; unlawful possession of a firearm, a Class C felony; tampering with physical evidence, a Class D felony; receiving stolen property, a class C felony; possession of a controlled substance, a Class C felony; and misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia.
Bond was denied for both suspects.
In Missouri, Class C felonies are punishable by anywhere from two to seven years in prison and a fine of up to $5,000. Class D felonies are punishable by terms of two to four years in prison and a fine of up to $5,000. Misdemeanors are punishable by up to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine.
According to probable cause statements filed with the court, the chase, which included units dispatched by the Nodaway County Sheriff’s Office, Maryville Public Safety, and the Missouri State Highway Patrol, stretched over 25 miles with the vehicles involved reaching speeds in excess of 100 mph.
The reports state that during the pursuit, sheriff’s Capt. David Glidden twice saw the passenger door of the Lincoln open as items were tossed out of the speeding car.
During a subsequent search of a portion of the pursuit route, officers recovered a Smith & Wesson .380 semiautomatic handgun and a black eyeglasses case containing two syringes of the sort used to inject drugs and a bent silver spoon.
Authorities are alleging that, after being advised of his rights, Gilpatrick admitted he handed the glasses case to Stains with the intention of having it tossed from the car.
Gilpatrick is also alleged to have admitted attaching improper license plates to the car, which he said had belonged to his late father. Additional statements indicated Gilpatrick may have fled deputies because he was being sought in other jurisdictions on charges of felony drug possession and failure to appear in court.
In a similar probable cause document relating to the charges against Stains, authorities allege that the pistol tossed from the car had been stolen.
Officers further claim that Stains was found to be hiding a substance in one of his shoes that field-tested positive a methamphetamine, a controlled substance.
Based on the initial investigation, both men are believed to be convicted felons with no known ties to the Maryville area.
Gilpatrick and Stains were taken into custody after officers were able to deploy tire spikes at four separate locations during the chase.
According to Nodaway County Sheriff Darren White, Gilpatrick initially lost control of the wheel while approaching the stoplight intersection near the Kawasaki Motors plant on the south edge of town. White said the car “spun around several times” and rolled through a grassy area before Gilpatrick was able to move back onto the pavement.
At that point, White said, the chase continued south to Route U, where Gilpatrick attempted to turn east off of the four-lane and onto the two-lane blacktop.
However, the suspect lost control of the wheel a second time, careened through the median, and traveled across the two northbound lanes of 71 before coming to rest on the east side of the highway.
White said both suspects tried to flee on foot but were apprehended without injury or incident.
Gilpatrick was taken immediately to the Nodaway County jail, but Stains was first transported to St. Francis Hospital, where he was treated for symptoms allegedly related to ingesting a controlled substance.
No one was injured during the pursuit.
