Robbery suspect arrested after commandeering Amish buggy in Missouri

JAMESPORT, Mo. (AP) -- A suspect in a gas station robbery forced an Amish man at gunpoint to use a horse and buggy to take him to a trailer home in Jamesport, where he was found hours later hiding in a nearby shed, the Missouri State Highway Patrol said.

Draper Scott Richardson, 26, of Breckenridge, was charged Tuesday with two counts of first-degree robbery, first-degree assault, armed criminal action and unlawful use of a weapon. Those charges stemmed from the robbery Saturday of a gas station in Chillicothe that led to shots being fired at bystanders and highway patrolmen, officials said.

He was being held at the Livingston County Jail on $1 million bond.

Patrol Sgt. Sheldon Lyon said that after the robbery, civilians chased the men, who had fled on foot, but one of the suspects fired shots at the pursuers.

Troopers took up the chase after the men took off in their car, officials said, and the suspects fired several shots at the officers. Two patrol cars were hit by bullets, the patrol said.

The fleeing car hit spike strips that had been placed in the road and came to a stop. One of the suspects, David Michael Searcy, 22, of Chillicothe, surrendered after a patrolman fired a shotgun at him, the patrol said.

On Tuesday afternoon, the Highway Patrol responded to the Jamesport trailer after getting a report of a stolen Amish buggy. The patrol and the Livingston County Sheriff's Department evacuated nearby homes, blocked off streets and called for a school lockdown as they surrounded the trailer.

Troopers unsuccessfully tried to reach Richardson by phone in the trailer.

After using a bullhorn to order Richardson to come out of the trailer, officers fired about 25 canisters of tear gas into the trailer. An hour later, they found him in a nearby shed.

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Information from: St. Joseph News-Press, http://www.stjoenews-press.com