A local man was apprehended in connection with a recent alleged armed robbery following a Friday morning pursuit.

The Monroe County Sheriff’s Department said that shortly after 7 a.m., it received information regarding a suspect wanted in an armed robbery that occurred in the county on Sept. 27. The suspect was reportedly traveling through the area and this information was shared with law enforcement agencies throughout the metro east.

A Columbia police officer spotted the suspect’s vehicle and conducted a vehicle stop. Upon identifying the driver, the suspect accelerated away at a high rate of speed, leading to a pursuit southbound on Route 3. The vehicle was later located abandoned, and the driver fled on foot.

The MCSD said that with assistance from Waterloo, Valmeyer and Columbia police in addition to the Metro East Auto Theft Task Force, the suspect was found hiding on the roof of a residence in Turkey Ridge Estates. 

The suspect, identified as Kurtis A. Grahlherr, 42, of Waterloo, surrendered and was taken into custody. 

Police said Grahlherr had active warrants for armed robbery, domestic battery and unlawful restraint stemming from the Sept. 27 incident, which was reported by a female acquaintance. 

Court information alleges that during this incident, he obtained a cell phone and passcode of a female victim by using a threat of imminent violence while armed with a machete. Grahlherr also allegedly refused to let the victim leave his residence and struck her in the head with the butt of the machete. 

Grahlherr has several outstanding charges in Monroe County from as far back as three years ago, when he was charged with aggravated assault with a vehicle following a Nov. 22, 2021, incident in which it is alleged he drove his 2001 Ford pickup on the alley behind Sunset Motel at a high rate of speed toward John Kirkley, endangering his safety.

In January 2022, he was charged with felony theft stemming from an incident during which he possessed a golf cart, buggy and four-wheeler knowing it was stolen or under such circumstances as would reasonably induce him to believe it was.

This past July, Grahlherr was charged with possession of drug paraphernalia, unlawful use of a blackjack/knife and parking in a non-business district on Route 3 at Park Street.

In late August, Grahlherr was charged with aggravated battery (public way), criminal damage to property and reckless driving following an incident during which he allegedly struck the rear end of a male victim on Floraville Road in Waterloo. Grahlherr also allegedly damaged a separate vehicle of the same victim.

All of the above charges except the Oct. 4 incident have a scheduled hearing date of this Friday. 

A hearing for fleeing/alluding and resisting a peace officer is scheduled for Oct. 22.

Grahlherr is currently incarcerated at the Monroe County Jail pending a pretrial release hearing set for Wednesday