Jacob David Stevenson
Jacob David Stevenson, 24, of Imperial has been charged with two felonies in the death of James Rhodes, who was found shot and lying along East Four Ridge Road in Imperial in late October.
Rhodes, who was 30 and had been living in Imperial, died Oct. 29, shortly after he was found in the 4400 block of East Four Ridge Road and transported to an area hospital, the Sheriff’s Office reported at the time.
Stevenson was arrested at about 6:30 p.m. Thursday (Dec. 16) at the Super 8 motel, 1733 W. Fifth St., in Eureka, according to Eureka Police.
Then, Stevenson was transported to the Jefferson County Jail in Hillsboro following his arrest, and he was being held there today (Dec. 17) without bond, Jefferson County Sheriff Dave Marshak said on his Twitter account.
On Nov. 16, the Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office charged Stevenson with first-degree murder, a class A felony punishable by death or life in prison without the possibility of probation or parole, and armed criminal action, an unclassified felony that carries a penalty of at least three years in prison, court records show.
Stevenson was located and arrested after a woman who encountered him called Eureka Police because she was concerned about his welfare, Eureka Police Lt. Michael Werges said.
He said the woman told Eureka Police that at about 6 p.m. Thursday, Stevenson, who was not wearing a coat and didn’t have a phone, showed up at her house on Fox Creek Road and asked to use her phone. The woman also said that after Stevenson told her a friend had dropped him off, he asked her to drive him to the Lake of the Ozarks.
The woman said she told Stevenson she wouldn’t drive him to the Lake of the Ozarks but offered to drive him either to a nearby gas station or the Super 8 motel. She dropped Stevenson off at the hotel and then contacted Eureka Police, the report said.
The officers went to the hotel and found Stevenson in one of the rooms. Stevenson allegedly gave the officers a false name and said he was confused due to his mental illness and because he did not have his medication. The name Stevenson provided was for someone who was dead, and when the officers questioned Stevenson about the name he originally gave, he provided his correct name, Eureka Police reported.
The officers then discovered Stevenson was wanted by the Sheriff’s Office for first-degree murder and arrested him without further incident. Stevenson was taken to the Eureka Police Station, where he was booked and then transported to the Jefferson County Jail, Werges said.
According to the probable-cause statement in the case, Stevenson allegedly used a semi-automatic 9mm Beretta to shoot Rhodes in the back of the head. A shell casing found near Rhodes allegedly matched a gun in Stevenson’s possession.
Sheriff’s Office Lt. Nic Forler said in the report that the shooting appeared to be random since there was no indication Stevenson and Rhodes knew each other before the alleged murder.
Court records show Stevenson previously was arrested at least three times for misdemeanor offenses.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol issued him a ticket in May 2015 for operating a boat on a lake without a proper boating safety identification card, and he received a ticket from the highway patrol in November 2020 for driving a car too slow on I-55 in the Pevely area, following an accident involving five vehicles, including a big rig, that left two people dead, court records show.
Stevenson also pleaded guilty to a third-degree assault charge stemming from a January 2015 incident in Jefferson County, according to court documents.
Rhodes also had a criminal record.
He had been convicted of at least two felonies, including making a terrorist threat after he and another man called in a bomb threat against Festus Elementary School in August 2014, court documents show.
Rhodes, who lived in Cadet at the time the threat was made, and Michael Asher, who lived in Hillsboro at the time, admitted to being involved in the bomb threat. The two said they made the call in the hopes of getting police to leave the Crystal City area where they were hiding out after stealing a generator from a home there, the probable-cause statement in the case said.
Rhodes pleaded guilty to making a terrorist threat in October 2015, and he was sentenced to four years in prison. In November 2015, Asher was sentenced to 15 years in prison following felony charges for burglary, making a terrorist threat, heroin possession and resisting arrest, court records show.
Rhodes also pleaded guilty to felony possession of a controlled substance tied to an October 2012 incident in Jefferson County, and he got five years’ probation. However, he violated the probation, and in March 2015, he was sentenced to seven years, according to court documents.