Sedalia Police Reports for March 13, 2024

This article is compiled from the Sedalia Police Department crime reports.

Early Wednesday morning, a car was stopped because it had no front license plate. The stop happened in the area of West Broadway Boulevard and South Carr Avenue. The driver was found to not have a valid driver’s license. Joel Romero Quetzecua, 34, of Sedalia, was arrested on a charge of No Operator’s License. Quetzecua was placed on a 24-hour hold at the Pettis County Jail.

Tuesday evening, Officers observed a black Toyota Camry with no license plates. Officers initiated a traffic stop on the vehicle in the area of East Saline Street and Randolph Avenue. The driver was found to be impaired by drugs. Travis Alexander Lawson, 39, of Sedalia, was arrested on a charge of Driving While Intoxicated (Drugs). Lawson was taken to the Pettis County Jail to be booked and released.

Sedalia Police were dispatched to the 400 block of East 7th Street in regards to a hit-and-run accident Tuesday morning. Officers spoke to Novas Durley and gathered information for the report.

Tuesday evening, Officers responded to the Heckart Community Center in reference to multiple car break-ins. Officers spoke with Macey North, Kimberly Gonzalez, Natalya Oliferchuck, and Natalya Brenich, and gathered information.

Officers were dispatched to the 1300 block of East 4th Street Tuesday afternoon to investigate a verbal disturbance. The disturbance involved a mental health crisis. Officers arrived on scene, spoke to the parties involved, gathered written statements, and one of the involved subjects was arrested. Thomas Lee Murphy, 38, of Sedalia, was arrested on a charge of Domestic Assault in the 4th Degree*.

On the morning of March 5th, Sedalia Police were called to the lobby of the Police Department. Mariah Busing reported a theft that had occurred early in the morning in the 600 block of East 16th Street.

Tuesday morning, Officers initiated a subject check at the intersection of West 16th Street and South Limit Avenue. The Officers believed they recognized the subject as having a warrant for their arrest. Officers identified the subject. The arresting incident that led to the warrant happened in January of 2024. In that incident, Officers drove past the Shell Station, 1722 West Broadway. They saw a white male that appeared to be staggering as he crossed the parking lot to a blue Ford. Officers turned around, observing the Ford pull out of the Shell station, heading north. The vehicle accelerated rapidly, leaving a long plume of exhaust. The vehicle was drifting back and forth on West 3rd Street, clearly speeding (Confirmed by radar as 42 MPH in a 30 MPH zone). Officers made contact with the driver, Jared Ward Sanders, 42, of Sedalia. Officers detected a strong odor of intoxicants, and noticed he was staggering while trying to hold his pants up as he walked to the Officer’s patrol car. After testing, Ward’s breath sample showed a BAC of .134. He was transported to the Pettis County Jail, and the Officer notes he had two previous DWI convictions. A warrant for Ward’s arrest regarding this incident was issued in March 2024, with bond set at $2500 cash or surety. Ward was arrested on his Pettis County warrant on charges of Driving While Intoxicated (Chronic Offender). At the current time, Ward is awaiting future court dates.

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Monday afternoon, Law Enforcement responded to a report of a subject attempting to turn himself in because he had a warrant for his arrest. Brian Dale Vinson, 47, of Sedalia, was arrested on a warrant for a felony charge of Financial Exploitation of an Elderly or Disabled Person. In May 2023, an investigation began after a report was filed by a relative of the victim, who is Vinson’s step-mother. He stated she had been taken to an unknown residential facility by Vinson, and the funds to pay for the care were being taken from her personal bank account**. Vinson had transferred large sums of money from the victim’s accounts into his own, had the victim sign a Quit Claim Deed, switched titles on two vehicles, and transferred ownership of her real estate to him by fraud (including false documentation, and a false notarization of a Durable Power of Attorney). Vinson had transferred $400,000 in cash to himself, and the estimated value of the real estate was set at $363,000. The victim had been diagnosed with memory problems in 2020, and did not know the name of the facility she was living in, did not know how long she had been there, the current year, or the name of the current President of the United States. Law enforcement believes Vinson had not only taken advantage of an adult that could not care for herself, but had used the money not to care for the victim, but rather for his own personal gain. Vinson claimed he used the money to invest on the victim’s behalf, which was determined to be untrue. Vinson was arrested and transported to the Pettis County Jail, pending a bond of $1,000,000 cash or surety. Stipulations of bail include he is not to have any contact with the victim, and must transfer all assets of the victim to a conservator.

*The report does not mention if Murphy was bonded, booked and released, or if he was placed on any kind of hold. Casenet #21PT-CR00711-01 states that Murphy is still on probation for a felony charge of Domestic Assault in the 2nd Degree, stemming from a charge in April 2021.

**The Probable Cause statement notes that the victim will no longer have the money for her private pay care, and that Vinson attempted to place her on Medicaid.