Five arrested for trespassing on downtown Cape roofs

EDITOR'S NOTE: This story has been corrected to reflect that Shana K. Gemoules has not been issued a summons for trespassing as of Thursday, July 30.

Cape Girardeau police arrested five people for suspected trespassing on the roofs of downtown buildings, including two women who had to be helped down by firefighters with a ladder truck.

Shortly after 3:30 a.m. Tuesday, police received a call reporting a burglary at the building that formerly housed Jeremiah's bar at 127 N. Water St., said Sgt. Jason Selzer, spokesman for the department. The call came from employees who had finished working at Buckner Brewing Co. and heard noises from inside the shuttered Jeremiah's.

One officer saw a man come out onto a second-floor patio area of Jeremiah's and scale a wall to the roof of Buckner. The officer arrested the man, Heath P. Sanders, 25, 439 N. Sprigg St., Apt. 10, as he reached the roof, Selzer said.

Two women were caught on a roof just north of 114 N. Main St. The women appeared to have been drinking and, as a precaution, were removed from the roof by firefighters, Selzer said. Erika L. Hutchcraft, 24, 401 Albert St., and Katie M. Starkey, 654 S. Spring Ave., were arrested, Selzer said.

Officer Joey Hann then saw two more people, a man and a woman, on the second-floor patio of Jeremiah's. With the help of an employee of Buckner, Hann and another officer went to the roof and warned the man, Jeffrey D. Lage, 25, 114 N. Main St., several times to stay put, Selzer said.

Lage was "actively looking for a route of escape" and ignored several other commands, Selzer said. When Lage directed his movements toward the officers, they tackled him and placed him in handcuffs. The woman who was with him on the patio, Shana K. Gemoules, 21, 16 N. Park Ave., was arrested after officers forced the locks at Jeremiah's, Selzer said.

The five people were taken to police headquarters at 40 S. Sprigg St., where they were fingerprinted, photographed and four were issued summonses to appear in municipal court on charges of trespassing. Gemoules was released pending review by the municipal prosecutor, Selzer said. Lage was also issued a summons for resisting arrest.

On the patio of Jeremiah's, officers saw a makeshift ladder and bent window awnings that were evidence of repeated access, Selzer said.

rkeller@semissourian.com

388-3642

Pertinent addresses:

132 N. Main St., Cape Girardeau, MO

127 N. Water St., Cape Girardeau, MO

40 S. Sprigg St., Cape Girardeau, MO