Pettis County Sheriff’s Office Reports for July 29th, 2024

This article is compiled from reports issued by the Pettis County Sheriff's Office.

Early Monday morning, Pettis County Deputies conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle in the area of US 65 Highway and Anderson School Road because it did not have any license plates. During the stop, the driver gave consent to search the vehicle. Both occupants were removed from the vehicle and nothing was located. Deputies asked the passenger for consent to search his person, which he provided. Shortly into the search, Deputies located a glass pipe commonly used for smoking methamphetamine. The pipe was caked with a white crystal substance. Deputies also found a baggie of a white crystal substance. Brian Neil Milburn, 57, of Sedalia, was placed under arrest. Milburn was transported to the Pettis County Jail to be booked on charges of Trafficking Drugs in the 2nd Degree, Possession of a Controlled Substance and Unlawful Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. Milburn was placed on a 24-hour hold.

Sunday morning, Deputies conducted a traffic stop in the area of West Broadway Boulevard and South Harrison Avenue on a vehicle that was improperly displaying license plates. The driver, Alisha M. Fitzgerald, 37, of Des Moines Iowa*, was found to have a warrant from Daviess County, Missouri. The citation was filed in 2020, with the first FTA issued in July of that year. Fitzgerald was transported to the Pettis County Jail to be booked in on her Failure to Appear warrant on original charges of No Valid Operator’s License and Speeding (26 MPH or More). Fitzgerald was held pending a cash only bond of $500.00.

Deputies were alerted to a pursuit by the Missouri State Highway Patrol coming from Lafayette County early Sunday morning. The pursuit proceeded into Warrensburg, and went west on DD highway out of Warrensburg. The vehicle came to a stop in a field on SW 10 west of SW 101. Three occupants exited the vehicle into a cornfield. Deputies and a Drone Unit were positioned at the west county line. The MSHP was advised of the K9 and drone availability, and requested the PCSO resources at the scene. The drone was deployed, and located two suspects who were hiding in the cornfield. They were both taken into custody. The area was searched for the other suspect, but yielded no results. At the time of the press release, the identities of the subjects in custody are unknown. Resources from the PCSO, the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office, The Missouri State Highway Patrol, the Warrensburg Police Department, the Johnson County Fire Protection District, the Johnson County Ambulance District, and the University of Central Missouri’s Department of Public Safety were all utilized on scene.

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Sunday morning, Deputies conducted a traffic stop at US 65 Highway and Honda Road on a vehicle that was failing to maintain its lane. After an investigation, which included Standardized Field Sobriety Tests as well as a preliminary breath test (which showed the driver’s blood alcohol content to be almost three times the legal limit), the driver was placed under arrest. Dennis Miles Jr., 51, of Columbia, was booked for Driving While Intoxicated, and then placed on a protective custody hold.

Last Tuesday evening, Pettis County Deputies took a report of a motor vehicle crash in the 24000 block of Flint Street in Georgetown. IT was stated that a UPS package truck was backing into a driveway and struck a 2020 Buick Enclave. The UPS driver was unaware and left the scene. Deputies were able to make contact with the UPS driver, who Deputies confirmed was unaware there was a crash. There were no injuries, and minor damage to the Enclave.

Deputies responded to a non-injury motor vehicle crash involving two vehicles in the area of East 6th Street and South Washington Street in Sedalia on Friday afternoon. A 2014 Nissan passenger car was travelling eastbound on East 6th Street. When the driver, Douglas Grandfield, 68, of Sedalia, was about halfway through the intersection, he was struck by another vehicle. The other vehicle, a 1997 Chevrolet pickup, was operated by Phillip Schafer, 51, of Sedalia. The Chevrolet entered the intersection, travelling northbound and collided with the Nissan. Both vehicles received moderate damage, and the Nissan was towed from the scene.

Friday morning, Deputies arrived to the 300 block of East 2nd Street in Sedalia, regarding a felony warrant check. There was no further information in the report, and no mention of an arrest was mentioned.

On the evening of July 7th, Officers conducted a traffic stop near the area of East Highway 50 and Highway MM in Sedalia. The stop was conducted because the vehicle’s registration was expired. The vehicle did not stop immediately, and drove for about a mile before actually pulling over. Deputies made contact with the driver and the front passenger. Deputies asked for the driver’s license, and he stated he did not have it on his person. Deputies asked the driver for his date of birth, which he did not provide, but did give a name Deputies knew to be false**. The driver also kept putting his left arm down underneath his seat. The driver was instructed to keep his hands on the steering wheel, which he failed to do. When another unit arrived, the driver was instructed to get out of the vehicle. He failed to comply. The driver was removed from the vehicle. The driver was soon identified as Donald Ray Knox Jr., 33, Homeless. Knox was placed into handcuffs, and then tried to run out into the middle of East 50 Highway. Knox was grabbed and taken to the ground, but continued to fight and failed to listen to commands. Knox was placed into a WRAP restraint system, fighting it the entire time. Knox was arrested on charges of Identity Theft, Resisting Arrest, Operating a Motor Vehicle Without a Valid License, and an active warrant out of Probation and Parole on original charges of felony Domestic Assault in the 3rd Degree. Knox transported to the Pettis County Sherrif’s Office to be booked in, pending a $1500 cash or surety bond on the license and resisting charges***. Knox also had a Failure to Appear warrant on original charges of Resisting Arrest from an incident in May of 2024. Bond on that warrant was set at $500 cash only.

Last Thursday night, Deputies were dispatched to the 2500 block of South Stewart Avenue for a warrant check. Deputies knocked on the door, and made contact with Amanda Nicole Brown, 40, of Sedalia. After a check of her information details, Brown was placed under arrest for a Probation and Parole on a previous felony charge of Driving While Intoxicated (Persistent Offender). Brown was transported to the Pettis County Jail, pending a $25,000 cash or surety bond.

Deputies responded to the area of Highway ZZ and Ionia Road in Green Ridge in reference to property damage and stealing. 200 feet of copper wire was cut and stolen from telephone poles.

Wednesday night, Deputies conducted a traffic stop in the area of East 16th Street and South Ohio Avenue in Pettis County on a vehicle with a passenger side defective headlight. The passenger was identified as Steven W. Halter, 45, of Sedalia. Halter had an active arrest warrant in his name issued from Pettis County on original charges of Domestic Assault in the 2nd Degree. As Halter exited the vehicle, a syringe was seen by Deputies falling out of his pocket. Deputies got consent to search the vehicle, and the driver, Jamie Furlan Fico, 38, of Cole Camp, was placed under arrest. Deputies noticed Fico was trying to conceal something on her person as she got into the patrol vehicle. Fico admitted to Deputies she had methamphetamine concealed on her person. Halter was booked in at the Pettis County Jail on charges of Possession of a Controlled Substance and his warrant, which carried a bond of $20,000 cash or surety. Fico was arrested and placed on a 24-hour hold pending charges of felony Trafficking Drugs in the 2nd Degree, and felony Possession of a Controlled Substance. Bond for Fico was later set at $150,000 cash or surety.

On the morning of July 22nd, Michael Hart of Sedalia reported a lost or stolen dealer license plate. The plate was stolen between July 21st and 23rd.

Last Tuesday night, Deputies responded to the 2900 block of McVey Road in reference to an assault no longer in progress. A suspect was identified and located. Both parties were provided statement forms to provide their side of the story in regard to the altercation. Charges are being submitted through the Pettis County Prosecutor’s Office. Author’s Note: Neither party was named in the report by Deputy Anderson, and it was not specified whether one or both parties would be facing charges.

*The report lists Fitzgerald’s address in Iowa. In Casenet, her address is listed in Kansas City, Missouri.

**The Probable Cause statement notes that Deputy Zackary Long has had several incidents with Knox, and knew the driver to not own the identity he gave. The PC statement also notes Knox has three prior convictions for Resisting Arrest.

***Knox has already missed his court date on these charges. A Failure to Appear warrant has been issued for his arrest, with a cash or surety bond of $2500.