admin
Two Perry County men are facing multiple charges and a third woman after Perry County Sheriff’s deputies attempted to serve an outstanding warrant at a rural address Sunday.
According to a report from the Perry County Sheriff’s Office, deputies were dispatched to 436 PCR 318, at approximately 8:07 a.m. to serve a warrant for the arrest of Michael Winchester, 34, of Perryville.
On their arrival, they were met by a male resident — later identified as Michael Knight, 30, of Dexter — who claimed he didn’t know whether Winchester was at home or not.
Knight and his wife, Natasha, were removed from the residence and a search for Winchester was conducted.
[ads:3496 limit:1]
He was found hiding in a bedroom and placed under arrest for an outstanding warrant for probation violation. Knight, in the meantime, eluded deputies and ran off.
“Knight took off on [the deputies] after they had located Winchester and they were trying to run some criminal history checks on those guys,” said Perry County Sheriff Gary Schaaf. “He took off into a wooded area. One thing led to another and they couldn’t find him in the immediate area.”
During their investigation, deputies learned that Knight had an outstanding warrant from Stoddard County for probation violation.
According to Schaaf, deputies brought Winchester to the Perry County Sheriff’s Office in Perryville and obtained a search warrant for the property on PCR 318 after what appeared to be illegal drugs and paraphernalia were seen in the house.
Deputies returned to the property with the search warrant and located methamphetamine, marijuana and drug paraphernalia.
During this time, the sheriff’s office had sent out a series of Nixle alerts about the ongoing search for Knight and asking for the public’s assistance in locating him.
The first alert was issued at 10:24 a.m. Sunday and Knight was described as a “short white male, no shirt, blue shorts, brown hair, last seen on foot near PCR 318 off Hwy P.”
At 12:52 p.m., an update was issued stating that Knight had been spotted in the woods near 4745 Hwy E. By 1:15 p.m., deputies had caught up Knight and he was taken into custody.
“One of the residents out here on Hwy. E saw the guy and called it in,” Schaaf said. “They went out there and, sure enough, they got him.”
Winchester was charged with trafficking drugs, possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Knight was charged with felony resisting arrest and was also held for Stoddard County on their warrant.
Natasha Knight was charged with possession of drug paraphernalia and released.
