A West Plains man with active warrants was arrested and released on bond Dec. 19 after a pursuit by officers, the second such pursuit of the same suspect in about a week. The pursuit also appears to have related to action taken by high school and middle school staff and students in response to a potential safety threat after it was reported to school officials by law enforcement.
Paul A. Vincent, 35, is charged with two felony counts of resisting or interfering with an arrest for a felony and at the time of his arrest, had two active warrants, one for failure to make a court date in November related to a second-degree domestic assault charge filed in October, and another on the same charge related to a separate incident, filed Nov. 29 with a warrant issued Dec. 4.
The first of the two assaults reportedly happened Sept. 8, and West Plains Police Officer Daiman Meyer, in court documents submitted to prosecutors, said he responded to a location on Missouri Avenue and spoke with the victim. The woman said she'd had an altercation with Vincent and he had put her in a chokehold, nearly causing her to lose consciousness, and dragged her to the ground while he was choking her.
Meyer noted in his report the victim had marks on her neck and lacerations on her elbows that were consistent with her account of the incident. Charges were filed Oct. 16 and a warrant with a $7,500 bond was issued Nov. 7 for failure to show up for court on a bond appearance hearing, court records show.
The second alleged assault happened Nov. 19 near Second Street and Lincoln Avenue, when Vincent allegedly punched his girlfriend in the face multiple times, then knocked her to the ground, got on top of her and choked her with his hands.
The woman stopped breathing and said the only thing that prevented her from losing consciousness was kicking him away, and she was in fear for her life during the incident, according to a probable cause statement submitted by Officer Robert Shell. Vincent left the scene and officers were unable to find him, Shell stated in court documents, and a warrant with a $5,000 bond was issued Dec. 4 on that charge.
On Dec. 13, Cpl. Brent McKemie reported, he tried to arrest Vincent on the outstanding warrants by announcing the arrest to the suspect, but Vincent escaped on foot through a brushy creek bed while the officer ordered him to stop multiple times.
On Dec. 19, Officer Austin Deshazo was informed that Vincent had been seen walking along railroad tracks near North Howell Avenue, and when he spotted officers he climbed onto a railcar and crossed to the south side of the tracks, fleeing on foot.
He was then located by officers behind a business off of East Main Street and fled again on foot, onto the railroad tracks and alongside a moving train after being ordered to stop. He then climbed onto a moving railcar, walked to the opposite side, and sat down before refusing to get down Deshazo said.
The officer reported Vincent was later seen in the area of Allen Street and Bratton Avenue and again fled from officers after being advised he was under arrest. During the pursuit, Deshazo noted, Vincent was seen throwing a clear plastic bag onto the ground, and after being taken into custody, officers found two broken glass pipes on him that appeared to have burnt white crystalline residue on them.
At about 11:11 a.m. that day, police were advised that Vincent had possibly been spotted, according to law enforcement scanner communications, and about two minutes later he was seen by an officer and almost immediately began running north, escaping by jumping onto the moving railcar and sitting on the side of it.
At about 11:18 a railroad worker advised law enforcement the suspect had jumped from the car, which was reportedly moving very slowly at that point and in the area of MFA Feed off of Bratton Avenue. The area is very near Ozark Christian Academy and West Plains High and Middle Schools.
Vincent was apprehended on foot again after being spotted between Ozarks Christian Academy and the railroad tracks and taken into custody at about 11:30, according to scanner traffic.
About 15 minutes after that, parents and guardians of the West Plains School District were notified by school officials students and staff at the high school and middle school had been placed on a hold, sometimes referred to as a “soft lockdown,” during a law enforcement pursuit and instructed to clear hallways and common areas and move to rooms with locking doors.
The hold was then lifted with no direct threat by the suspect to the school, following district protocol regarding such incidents, according to school officials.
