(Information in this report is gathered from police agencies, county courts and emergency radio dispatch. The public is reminded that defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty and charges may sometimes be dropped or changed as part of the legal process.)

Columbia Police

Aug. 10

Eric M. French, 38, of Fenton, Mo., was arrested on a Monroe County warrant and for possession of a hypodermic syringe, fugitive from justice and no insurance on I-255.

Aug. 12

Shawn P. Buckley, 38, of Waterloo, was charged with possession of a stolen/converted vehicle in connection with the theft of an enclosed trailer from outside a residence in the Columbia Lakes subdivision the morning of Aug. 1. The trailer was recovered days later near Cahokia. The Metro East Auto Theft Task Force assisted in the investigation. Buckley, who also has a pending case in Monroe County for aggravated fleeing/eluding police from a June incident, is currently at the St. Clair County Jail on a domestic battery charge stemming from an incident in Cahokia. His bond on the latest Monroe County charge was set at $100,000.

Millstadt Police

Aug. 14

Shortly after 3:15 p.m., police responded to North Jefferson Street for a battery in progress. The victim did not want to press charges. One of the parties involved, however, Jeffrey A. Petri, 51, of Millstadt, was arrested on a Dewitt County warrant.

Aug. 15

Paige M. Denzer, 21, of Millstadt, was apprehended on felony and misdemeanor charges of domestic battery in connection with a June 29 incident on North Jefferson Street.

Monroe County Sheriff

Aug. 15

The Monroe County Sheriff’s Department and Monroe County EMS responded about 4:15 p.m. to a property on Baum Road near Maeystown after a woman was accidentally shot through her thigh with a 9 millimeter handgun by a relative who was handling the weapon. The woman was transported to an area hospital and has since been released.  Police are investigating the incident. 

Aug. 16

A motorcycle crash occurred on the Route 3 northbound exit ramp onto northbound I-255 in Columbia. The motorcyclist, 38-year-old Mark Whitmire of St. Louis, was transported by ambulance to a St. Louis hospital for treatment of a broken collarbone. A 2015 Honda CBR600 crashed off the roadway in the grass. An alert was issued shortly after 7:35 p.m., after a white and black sport motorcycle fled a traffic stop attempt by a sheriff’s deputy on Route 3 in Columbia. The sport bike was riding with other motorcycles when the traffic stop attempt occurred. Police determined Whitmire was the biker who evaded the stop attempt. Columbia police cited him for no insurance and violation of driver classification. Further charges are pending from the Monroe County Sheriff’s Department.

Waterloo Police

Aug. 14

Timothy Baliva, 45, of Arnold, Mo., was arrested for DUI and improper lane usage on Route 3 at GG Road.

Aug. 15

Chad Sutton, 36, of Collinsville, was arrested for DUI and improper lane usage on Route 3 at GG Road.

Aug. 17

A crash occurred about 4:45 p.m. on HH Road between North Moore Street and Gall Road. A Chevrolet Malibu driven by a 16-year-old Columbia male was traveling east on HH Road when it veered off the roadway and overturned while avoiding contact with a westbound Ford F250 driven by Jeffery Lauer, 49, of Waterloo. Lauer was cited for improper lane usage. No injuries were reported.