Free Republic

ST. CHARLES, Mo. (AP) — Police said a convenience store customer shot and killed an armed robber in a St. Louis suburb early Saturday. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that the QuikTrip customer, who St. Charles police identified only as a 26-year-old man from St. Louis, grabbed a gun from his vehicle and confronted the robber after he saw the man grab the clerk and hold a knife to her throat. Police said investigators believe the suspect was also responsible for a burglary and second robbery at two other gas stations that happened shortly before he went to the QuikTrip...

A 26-year-old man who allegedly held a knife to a gas station clerk’s neck in St. Charles, Missouri, was shot and killed Saturday morning by a store customer. FOX 2 Now reports that the incident occurred around 3 a.m. and that police indicated the suspect was traveling in a black SUV that had been stolen on July 15. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch notes that the alleged robber entered the store and “announced a robbery.” He then allegedly put a knife to the clerk’s throat and demanded money from the cash register. At one point during the incident a customer who...

Excerpt: "A 26-year-old white man who attempted to commit a terror attack on an Amtrak train in rural Nebraska also attended the doomed “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, last August on the white supremacist side, according to a court document. St. Charles, Missouri resident Taylor Michael Wilson has been charged with an attempt to commit terror by targeting an Amtrak train in southwest Nebraska in October 2017. FBI Special Agent Monte Czaplewski, writing in an affidavit attached to the criminal complaint, suggested that Wilson wanted to murder black people. The document suggests that he had weapons, as well...

The suspect arrested Thursday (April 16) and booked with attempted first-degree murder of a St. Charles Parish sheriff's deputy, was fired from the Transportation Security Administration for "unbecoming conduct" and was previously arrested and booked with domestic violence and aggravated assault, St. Charles Sheriff Greg Champagne said. The suspect, 58-year-old John Pau Devillier, is a native of St. Charles Parish. However, authorities say his most recent residence was a room at the Value Place Motel in Gulfport, Miss. "We are at this time thoroughly looking into Mr. Devillier's past," Champagne said. "We have learned, what I can positively corroborate about...

Two teenage nurses laughed and filmed themselves as they beat a 98-year-old nursing home resident in St. Charles, Illinois. According to the Chicago Tribune, Chemyra Barnett and Jacqueline Santos – both 18-years old – struck an elderly woman with dementia, took video of the attack, and shared the video with friends. Both were charged "with one count of aggravated battery of a person older than 60... and one count of illegal video taping." They were released on a bond of $15,000 each. Barnett and Santos are scheduled to appear in court March 27. According to the Daily Mail, the two...

No charges will be filed against two anti-President Barack Obama protesters arrested on an Interstate 70 overpass last month, St. Charles County Prosecutor Tim Lohmar announced Tuesday. snip "The Highway Patrol has a job to do, and that includes ensuring that our roadways remain safe," Lohmar said. "However, based upon the facts and circumstances, we do not believe that criminal charges are appropriate, nor do we believe that we can prove that a crime occurred." Excerpt

"Citizens have a right to peaceably assemble," said Messmer, who was part of a series of overpass demonstrations around the country seeking the president's impeachment. "We were simply doing that. There were no laws broken." Sgt. Al Nothum, a spokesman for the Missouri Highway Patrol, said the potential for a traffic hazard was why the two and 10 or so other protesters were told by officers to leave the Fairgrounds Road overpass about 2 p.m. The two were arrested, he said, for failing to obey. Nothum said the patrol wants charges filed but prosecutors have yet to decide. The patrol...

A few of you sent me this video, published to Youtube today, of the weekend overpass protests, this one in St. Charles, Missouri. I’m still trying to figure out what laws these protesters broke. While I wasn’t there, it seems to me the protesters were standing on public ground, not in traffic, therefor not impeding traffic. Having organized and attended many protests myself — and having worked with local law enforcement to make sure regulations (even mindlessly unnecessary ones) are met, so long as a protester isn’t standing in traffic, there isn’t an issue. Am I missing something here? Don’t...

ST. CHARLES • The arrest Saturday afternoon of two anti-Barack Obama protesters on an Interstate 70 overpass is stirring controversy - fueled by a video of the incident circulating on the internet. The two — Marc S. Messmer, 41, of St. Charles, and Jimmy D. "Duane" Weed, 57, of Bridgeton — say that their constitutional rights were violated. "Citizens have a right to peaceably assemble," said Messmer, who was part of a series of overpass demonstrations around the country seeking the president's impeachment. "We were simply doing that. There were no laws broken." Sgt. Al Nothum, a spokesman for the...

ST. CHARLES, Ill.- A police department in the Chicago suburbs said some of the guns obtained from a buyback program will be sold to a pair of licensed dealers. St. Charles Police Chief James Lamkin said about 20 firearms obtained through a gun buyback program and seized by courts will be sold to the dealers, the Chicago Tribune reported Friday. "There's value in these guns," Lamkin said. "They're not illegal guns. Quite honestly, it's a bottom line for us." Most other area departments, including the Chicago Police Department and the Illinois State Police, destroy the guns obtained through buybacks. "There...

Police and organizers shut down proceedings at one of Missouri’s largest caucuses today, as Ron Paul supporters feuded with local GOP leaders. “It’s like the Hatfields and the McCoys around here,” St. Charles County’s former GOP chairman told ABC News, after police arrived on-scene with a helicopter and removed Paul backers. In St. Charles, an exurb of St. Louis and one of the state’s largest GOP counties, Paul supporters sought to elect their own chairman and adopt their own rules when proceedings opened — both of which are part of standard caucus rules and procedure. But as they argued with...

After months of preparation, education, and activism by conservatives, all over Missouri, caucus day arrived, and in St. Charles County it came and went without awarding delegates. The Francis Howell North High School bleachers were packed and there was a standing room only crowd after the caucus was called to order, an hour and a half late. Clearly crowds exceeded expectation as checking in the overflow crowd took much longer than expected. Most in the crowd waited longer to be checked into the caucus than the caucus lasted. The beginning of the caucus started with the reading of the pre-approved...

Fox Valley Marathon winner Tim Cunningham crossed the finish line while barefoot in downtown St. Charles on Sunday morning. He didn’t lose his shoes along the way—he ran the entire 26.2 miles without them. “It was kind of a perfect day to run,” said the Charlottesville, VA resident, whose race time was 2:56:24. “The bridges were a little rough, a little slick at times, but it was good.”It was the 15th marathon for Cunningham, who spent the past year building up calluses on his feet. He started running barefoot when he could not afford five-toe running shoes; though he can afford the shoes now,...

Note: The following text is a quote: Eight Uzbekistan Nationals Among 12 Charged with Racketeering, Human Trafficking & Immigration Violations in Scheme to Employ Illegal Aliens in 14 States Twelve defendants, including eight Uzbekistan nationals, have been charged in a 45-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Kansas City, Mo., on May 6, 2009, on RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act) charges related to labor racketeering, forced labor trafficking and immigration and other violations in 14 states. Abrorkhodja Askarkhodjaev, 30, Nodir Yunusov, 22, Rustamjon Shukurov, 21, citizens of Uzbekistan residing in Mission, Kan.; Ilkham Fazilov, 44, Nodirbek...

A man dressed as a woman robbed the Capital One Bank at 3540 St. Charles Avenue this morning, authorities said. The FBI and New Orleans Police Department said the robber presented a note to a teller demanding money around 9:20 a.m. He placed the money in a black zippered portfolio and got away, the agencies said in a news release. The man was last seen walking in "an uptown direction,'' the news release said. The Metropolitan Orleans Bank Security Association is offering up to $5,000 for information leading to the arrest and indictment of the robber. Anyone with information is...

What residents were hoping they could avoid has happened in St. Charles. As feared, part of the Elm Point Levee has burst and water is rushing through right now at a rapid pace. Authorities say that the levee burst in two spots around 1:30 a.m. on Tuesday. One of those holes is reportedly the size of a football field. Several homes and businesses in the area are now flooded. Officials say that residents in that area voluntarily evacuated before the breach.    Google map link

When Lewis and Clark reached North Dakota this month 200 years ago, the icy Missouri River forced them to set up camp for five months. They built wooden huts, nearly ran out of meat, and Clark lined his gloves with lynx fur to guard against the cold. A crew re-creating the explorers' 1803-1806 expedition will spend this winter, however, at home. "I'm looking forward to some sushi," said the crew's captain, Scott Mandrell, 39, of Alton. "That's one thing I've missed desperately, being able to run to Schnucks and buy some sushi." < SNIP > No one can call them...