By Jeff Lehr
The Joplin Globe
JOPLIN, Mo. — Two suspects who purportedly threw explosive devices at Joplin police during a traffic stop and ensuing pursuit Monday were captured later in the day by deputies with the Jasper County Sheriff’s Department.
Deputies located Keith A. Wald, 34, of Joplin, and Nathan J. Felton, 22, of Neosho, at a residence outside the city and took them into custody on felony counts.
At 3:28 a.m., a Joplin police officer stopped a Ford F-150 pickup truck pulling a trailer at Fourth Street and Sergeant Avenue for having no working lights on the trailer. The officer had made contact with the two male occupants of the truck and a second officer had arrived on the scene and exited his vehicle when the driver started backing the truck and took off.
“While fleeing from the stop, (the driver) threw an explosive device out of the driver’s side window, which exploded approximately 15 feet from me,” Officer Joel Taber later wrote in a probable-cause affidavit.
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The affidavit identifies the driver as Wald.
A police pursuit ensued, during which a second explosive device was thrown from the passenger side of the truck and exploded next to Taber’s patrol vehicle, according to the affidavit. A Joplin Police Department news release stated that the second explosive device was thrown from the vehicle at E Street and Sergeant Avenue.
The pursuit continued along streets on the northwest side of the city. A third officer responding to the chase lost control of her patrol car at Lone Elm Road and Surrey, crashing into a tree. The pursuit continued into Cherokee County in Kansas, where officers lost sight of the fleeing truck and trailer near Highway 400 and Messer Road.
Capt. Trevor Duncan, with the Joplin Police Department, said no officers were injured by the explosive devices and the officer whose car struck the tree declined medical attention.
Duncan termed the explosive devices thrown by the suspects “significant” in terms of the danger they posed to the officers involved. He said the type of explosive devices thrown remains under investigation.
“The trailer was determined to have been stolen here overnight,” Duncan said.
Police issued descriptions of the truck and trailer, and both were recovered inside city limits on Monday. The suspects were caught by midafternoon.
Charges
Keith Wald and Nathan Felton are each facing counts of second-degree assault of a special victim, armed criminal action, resisting arrest, and unlawful possession and transport of an illegal weapon.
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©2017 The Joplin Globe (Joplin, Mo.)