Idaho man charged with felony after displaying gun on I-29

Platte County prosecutor Eric Zahnd charged an Idaho man with a felony for unlawful use of a weapon for his role in a disturbance along Interstate 29 last week. On Aug. 19, more than 40 911 calls were received regarding a man with a firearm, pointing it at motorists just north of the Highway 273 exit. Platte County Sheriff’s Department deputies and Missouri State Highway Patrol officers eventually found William Elders, Jr., 46, in the brush alongside the southbound lanes of traffic with sticks in his hand and took him into custody, according to court documents. An unloaded Remington 30-06 rifle was located within 100 yards of the arresting site. Elders denied pointing the firearm at motorists, stating that he had it pointed at the ground. He also repeatedly told officers that he had a plan to kill the president, and if the plan had worked, “we would all be dead.” According to a probable cause statement, Elders was agitated and attempting to load the rifle and point it out the window of a car he was traveling in down I-29 before he grabbed the steering wheel. The car stopped on the side of the road about a mile north of the Highway 273 exit, and Elders exited the vehicle, saying the car was bugged and people were talking to him through the radio. The driver of the vehicle, an unidentified woman, heard Elders say he needed to protect the president before she drove away and went to contact law enforcement. A loaded magazine for the rifle was later found in the vehicle. Elders remains in custody on a $35,000 cash-only bond and went before the court for an initial hearing Tuesday. He faces up to five years in prison if convicted.