One arrested for holding kids at gun & knifepoint
Tue, 10/01/2024 - 1:46pm
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By:
Nate Hudson, staff writer
A West Plains man on parole was arrested on kidnapping charges after holding two children at gun and knife point last month. William Michael Sanders, age 39, is being held on a $50,000 cash or surety bond.
The Howell County Sheriff's Office first learned of the incident on Sept. 17 when two juvenile males reported the incident after they were leaving a property where they had been bow hunting near County Road 1300, according to court documents. The children reported they had permission to hunt on the land and had been hunting on this property for two years. The victims said they were returning to their truck when an unknown man, later identified as Sanders, brandished a black handgun and demanded they exit their truck. The boys complied and Sanders demanded their identification and that they put their hands in the air and cell phones on the ground. Sanders then produced a large knife, which he later identified as a machete, brandishing it before their faces and ordering them to walk to his camper. Here, the boys reported, a second man and William's mother arrived, and the woman told them to leave. The children were able to identify the camper to law enforcement.
Deputies obtained a search warrant for the camper on Sept. 19, according to court documents. They recovered a black BB gun, a machete, and multiple throwing knives. As they were leaving, Sanders arrived and was taken into custody. In post-Miranda interviews, Sanders admitted to brandishing the gun, the machete, and walking the boys to his camper trailer. He was also quoted by the deputies as saying after thinking about his actions, he believed he was in the wrong.
Sanders is charged with two counts of second-degree kidnapping, one count of armed criminal action, and one count of unlawful use of a weapon – subsection 4 – exhibiting. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Sanders’ criminal history included arrests for drug abuse offenses, domestic violence, tampering with a motor vehicle, parole violations, and armed criminal action. He pleaded not guilty to the charges before Judge Robert Ray on Sept. 23 and is scheduled to return to court on Nov. 5 for a preliminary hearing.