Leavenworth man charged with DWI
A rolling disturbance that started at Trex Mart in Tracy, Mo., led to a driving while intoxicated charge in Platte City.
The incident occurred on Jan. 20, 2017 but a warrant was filed more than a year later — on Feb. 16 — charging Jamell A. Williams, 29, with driving while intoxicated–aggravated.
A $15,000 bond was issued for the arrest of the Kansas City man.
An officer with the Platte City Police Department located the vehicle on Branch Street, but the vehicle suddenly turned into Rollins Funeral Home according to court documents.
Williams, the driver of the vehicle, stepped out of the car when two officers were approaching.
He allegedly told the officers ‘I am going to have her drive’ and admitted he had been drinking.
Williams had a revoked driving status out of Arkansas and had three prior driving while intoxicated arrests in Arkansas — two in 2013 and one in 2015.
Man charged with sex crime against niece
A Pattonsburg, Mo., man is facing a felony allegation of enticement of a child less than 15 years old in Platte County.
The Kansas City Police Department filed amended charges against Joseph E. Ginn, 34, on Feb. 16.
Ginn was in the Daviess-DeKalb County Corrections Center on an unrelated charge when KCPD detectives talked to him about sexual incidents that occurred between April 1, 2016 and Feb. 14, 2017 with his niece.
Original charges came from Oct. 19, 2017 meeting with the victim at the Platte County Children’s Division office, included statutory rape, statutory sodomy and sexual exploitation of a minor.
He has a $250,000 cash only bond and is to have no contact with the victim — who was born in 2002 — or anyone under the age of 18.
Ginn is in custody in Gallatin, Mo., on four charges of failure to register as a sex offender. He was originally charged with child molestation in 2002 and was sentenced to a year in jail in Andrew County.
Houston Lake man charged with stealing
A Houston Lake man has been bound over for trial on a felony charge of stealing that occurred in Weatherby Lake.
Charles B. Bridgeford, 35, was arrested on Jan. 17, 2017 after a foot chase with the Kansas City Police Department.
He pleaded not guilty on the charge on Feb. 15 in Platte County and will return to court on March 15.
During that appearance he will also face two drug charges from Riverside arrest in 2016 on allegations of unlawful of use of a weapon and possession of a controlled substance.
According to court documents, Bridgeford is accused of stealing a 1994 Jeep Wrangler from the 9500 block of NW 77th Terrace in Weatherby Lake on Jan. 17, 2017.
KCPD officers spotted the vehicle near 12th Street and Newton Avenue. Officer followed until the vehicle was abandoned at 6614 E. 12th and two suspects ran. Bridgeford, the driver, was taken into custody after a foot pursuit.
During a search 12 baggies that tested positive for narcotics were found in Bridgeford’s pocket.
Found to have a revoked license as well, Bridgeford admitted to officers to stealing the Jeep and taking it home according to court documents.
St. joseph man accussed of theft
A St. Joseph man faces a felony count of stealing after allegedly swiping thousands of dollars of items from a home in Ferrelview.
Rusty Carpenter, 33, came to the victim’s home for a visit on January 27. The victim said she stayed up with him until about 5 a.m. before she fell asleep. When she woke up about noon he was gone and she noticed several items missing including a laptop computer, jewelry and collector’s marbles worth an estimated $1,000.
A neighbor later told deputies he saw a man matching Carpenter’s description leave the residence about 7:30 a.m. carrying a backpack and a pink plastic box, which the victim also reported missing.
Carpenter admitted to the victim he took the laptop to download music but was going to give it back. She drove to his house in St. Joseph and retrieved the computer, but court documents show it no longer works.
Carpenter is in custody at the Platte County Detention Center on $15,000 cash bond.
Dearborn teen flees from authorities
A Dearborn teenager faces four charges after authorities allege he led them on a short pursuit on the evening of February 12.
Gavin T. Singleton, 19, faces four counts after deputies responded to a suspicious vehicle call near the New Market Cemetery. When deputies arrived and attempted to check the vehicle, the driver took off and a short pursuit ensued. The black Mercedes failed to negotiate the intersection at New Market Cemetery Road and Route H and went into a field. Deputies detained the driver and a passenger and searched the vehicle where a scale rolling papers and pipes were found. Singleton later admitted that all of the items in the car were his and his passenger had just gotten to town.
Singleton is charged with resisting arrest by fleeing, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of less than 35 grams of marijuana and driving while revoked, all misdemeanors.
At the time of his arrested he has outstanding warrants for failure to keep to the right and driving while revoked/suspended in Platte City; possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia and possession of marijuana in Smithville.
When asked about the citations from Smithville, Singleton told officers they were from a situation ‘like tonight, except I was a better driver that night,’ according to court docments.
The passenger, Andrew F. Alexander, 21, had an outstanding warrant for possession of drug paraphernalia through Excelsior Springs Police Department, but deputies were advised to release him since they wouldn’t extradite him.
Burglary charges come from 2015 break-in
A Kansas City woman faces a burglary charge after she allegedly broke into an apartment in March of 2015.
Candace Lemmons, 33, faces a Class C felony charge of burglary after a incident nearly three years ago in Kansas City.
According to a probable cause statement, the victim left her apartment at about 7:30 a.m. on March 11 and when she returned that evening she found her front door pried open and lock destroyed, along with more than $8,000 of property missing.
At the time investigators found a latent fingerprint on a porcelain jar which was later matched to Lemmons in October of 2017. In January, Lemmons and her attorney voluntarily went to the North Patrol Division near KCI, but she didn’t wish to make any statements or any answer questions.
In September of 2017, Lemmons was sentenced to five years of probation for a burglary charge of the neighboring unit. In that case investigators found a cigarette butt with Lemmons’ DNA on it. According to the probable cause statement there were six total burglaries in a six month period in the apartment complex with similar methods of entry and similar targeted items.
Kansas man charged in sexting case
A man from Southeast Kansas is facing a second-degree felony charge of promoting child pornography.
Evan S. Gurnee, 22, of Oswego, Kan., is accused of receiving photos from a person under the age of 18 between June and July last year.
According to court documents, the 15-year-old victim’s father responded to the Kansas City Police Department to report inappropriate communications between his daughter and a possible adult male. The cell phone was provided with consent to search the phone after the victim disclosed she sent photos to Gurnee.
There were a total of 5,551 messages sent between the two and on June 24, Gurnee suggested the victim runaway together and three days later suggested getting a hotel together. On June 30, he talked about kidnapping her for his hotel ‘plans.’ On July 1, he reportedly ask for lewd photos from the victim and a friend she was with, but she didn’t respond to him after that.
Gurnee continued texting the victim until Aug. 17, 2017.
The victim stated she met the subject on Xbox Live and they began communicating when she was 14.
When contacted on Nov. 16, 2017, Gurnee admitted he received photos from the victim. Court documents shows that Gurnee deleted the photos each night while at work to keep from getting caught by his girlfriend, which led to him asking for more photos.
Gurnee was a month away from his 23rd birthday when he started communicating with the teenager.
A bond hearing was held on Feb. 13 and his $15,000 cash only bond stayed the same, but he was allowed to post 10 percent using cash or surety in the amount of $1,500. Terms of his bond condition included to not possess any device capable of internet use, to have no contact with any person under the age of 18, except the children residing in his home and is only able to travel to and from work and to court.
KC man facing 5 felony charges
A Kansas City man is being held on $500,000 bond for the alleged rape of his 16-year-old ex-girlfriend that occurred late last month at her home in Platte County.
Martese Johnson-Winters, 19, is in custody at the Platte County Detention Center in Platte City, facing five felony criminal charges, including rape, sodomy, sexual exploitation of a minor and armed criminal action. He pleaded not guilty at a court appearance late last week and was given an application for a public defender.
According to court documents, Johnson-Winters allegedly went to the home of his ex-girlfriend in the early morning hours of Tuesday, Feb. 27. He accused the girl of cheating on him and produced a handgun, allegedly telling the victim that she would do whatever he wanted her to do.
“Well, you hurt me so I’m going to hurt you,” Johnson-Winters is quoted as saying to the victim in court documents. He pressed the loaded gun to her cheek and neck and tried to put it in her mouth. He then allegedly forced her into sexual activity, while threatening her with the gun and recording the encounter on the victim’s phone.
Court documents say the teenaged girl continued to say, “no,” and told Johnson-Winters, “this isn’t right,” during the course of the attack.
Later that afternoon, Johnson-Winters contacted the victim’s 13-year-old brother, admitting he had been in the house that night with the victim. The victim’s older sister saw the video on the victim’s phone and told police she could see Johnson-Winters forcing her sister into sexual activity and threatening her with a gun if she didn’t comply.