Cape Girardeau couple charged in Jackson home invasion

A registered violent sex offender and his wife were taken into police custody early Wednesday morning for their alleged involvement in a Jackson home invasion.

Aimee L. Winchel

Cape Girardeau residents Corey Winchel, 30, and Aimee L. Winchel, 27, were charged through the Cape Girardeau County Prosecutor’s Office with felony counts of stealing and first-degree burglary, according to a Thursday news release from the Jackson Police Department.

Officers responded to the home invasion report at about 5:40 a.m. Monday, according to a probable-cause statement filed by Jackson police officer Jason Wilhelm.

The victim told officers someone entered his residence overnight and physically restrained him by tying his wrists to a bedframe, Wilhelm wrote, and a sheet was used to cover the victim’s face.

The victim was able to get a neighbor to free him after the suspects had left the residence, Wilhelm wrote.

According to the statement, the victim’s Smith & Wesson .38 Special revolver was missing after the home invasion, as well as his iPhone 8S with a purple Otterbox case, his sixth generation iPad with a black case, and the title to his dark blue 2006 Honda CRV.

The vehicle was missing from the parking lot following the incident, Wilhelm wrote, and the victim advised officers his wallet with his driver’s license, his First State Community Bank card and other various items was inside the missing vehicle.

Although he was unable to observe the suspects, the victim advised officers his door had a number lock on it that only a few people knew the combination to and “the suspects had to be someone that knew him and knew where the stolen items were located,” Wilhelm wrote.

Aimee Winchel had been at the residence until about 11:15 p.m. the previous evening, according to the statement.

A neighbor informed officers of having observed an argument between a white woman and a white man in the parking lot the previous evening, and the subjects were in a white SUV that squealed when it idled, Wilhelm wrote.

Later in the morning, the victim advised officers his bank card had been used that morning to withdraw $300 from an ATM at the First State Community Bank branch in Jackson, according to the statement.

The ATM’s camera captured photographs of a man in a red/black hoodie and a dark colored bandana withdrawing the funds, Wilhelm wrote, as well as photographs after the transaction of a white SUV driving.

A picture of Corey Winchel obtained through his Facebook account shows him wearing a red/black hoodie matching the one worn by the suspect in the ATM photograph, according to the statement.

Officers obtained a current address for Aimee and Corey Winchel in the 200 block of Greenbrier Drive and a search warrant for the residence was granted Monday by Judge Frank E. Miller, Wilhelm wrote.

A neighbor and the landlord advised a detective of the suspects returning home at about 6 a.m. Tuesday in a white SUV, according to the statement, and the suspects were behind on their rent.

The search warrant was executed by Jackson officers and detectives with Cape Girardeau County Sheriff’s Department about 9 a.m. Tuesday, and a red/black Michael Jordan XL hoodie was located in the closet of the master bedroom and collected as evidence, Wilhelm wrote.

Both suspects are being held at the Cape Girardeau County Sheriff’s Department. Corey Winchel is being held on a $25,000 cash or surety bond, and Aimee Winchel is being held on a $20,000 cash or surety bond.

In 2009, Corey Winchel pleaded guilty in Putnam County, Illinois, to a charge for predatory criminal sexual assault of a child. He was sentenced to six years in prison.