Carlton Houston Roberts III, 46, of Arnold has been charged with seven felonies for allegedly shooting a woman and holding two people hostage during an hours-long standoff on Monday (Sept. 13) at a home just southwest of Arnold, court records show.
On Tuesday (Sept. 14), the Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office charged Roberts with first-degree domestic assault, a class A felony; two counts of first-degree kidnapping, each one a class A felony; first-degree burglary, a class B felony; unlawful possession of a firearm, a class D felony; unlawful use of a weapon, a class E felony; and armed criminal action, an unclassified felony, court documents show.
Roberts was being held today in the Jefferson County Jail without bond.
He was arrested Monday afternoon following a standoff that lasted nearly nine hours at a home in the 3000 block of Adayah Drive, which is off Miller Road outside the Arnold city limits, the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office report.
Roberts reportedly entered the home at about 3:20 a.m. to confront his former girlfriend, a 41-year-old woman who lives at the home. He apparently was angry with his ex-girlfriend because she was living with another woman described as her “new girlfriend” in the home he and the 41-year old woman previously shared, the probable-cause statement in the case said.
Roberts confronted his former girlfriend in a rear bedroom and allegedly shot her in the chest, the report said.
The victim’s 79-year-old grandmother, who also lives in the home, came out of another bedroom and saw the younger woman lying on the floor. Then, the older woman locked herself in a bedroom, according to the report.
In the meantime, Roberts used a cell phone to record himself and livestream a video on Facebook that allegedly showed him yelling at his former girlfriend and her grandmother and threatening to shoot his ex-girlfriend again, according to the report.
Roberts then forced open the door to the bedroom where the grandmother was hiding and allegedly pointed a gun at her, demanded her cellphone and commanded her to come out into the hallway. He then reportedly forced his ex-girlfriend and her grandmother into a bedroom, where he sat near a window and fired a single gunshot out of the home as deputies arrived at the house, the probable-cause statement said.
The grandmother eventually was allowed to leave the home, and at about 7:15 a.m., SWAT team members were able to enter the home and free the injured woman. The gunshot victim was taken to an area hospital with what were believed to be non-life-threatening injuries, the Sheriff’s Office reported.
During the standoff, deputies, along with members of the Sheriff’s Office and St. Louis County SWAT teams, learned a 25-year-old Crystal City woman also was inside the home and had been hiding in a bedroom closet in the same room where Roberts was holed up without him being aware of her presence, the probable-cause statement said.
A robot was used to determine Roberts’ location as negotiators attempted to defuse the situation. Just before noon, SWAT team members entered the home, arrested Roberts without futher incident and freed the Crystal City woman from the closet, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
The arresting officers found a gun next to Roberts, Sheriff Dave Marshak said.
“While we cannot dictate the actions of the suspect, our crisis negotiators played a pivotal role in keeping (the suspect) calm,” Marshak said. “In the end, brave SWAT officers from Jefferson (County) and St. Louis County breached the bedroom door and executed the high-risk operation to save the victim.
“Based on all the actions of the suspect, he is lucky to be alive. I’m impressed with the discipline and heroism SWAT officers displayed during this operation. Rescue attempts like this are extremely high risk with huge consequences. I’m proud to support these officers any way I can and hope the community can appreciate their risk and sacrifice for someone they didn’t know.”
After the standoff ended, authorities learned Roberts was a convicted felon.
In October 1994, Roberts pleaded guilty to a charge of first-degree tampering with a motor vehicle tied to a July 1994 incident in St. Louis. He was sentenced to one year in prison, court documents said.
He pleaded guilty to a second-degree burglary charge in October 1995 stemming from a January incident that year in Jefferson County, and in November 1995, he pleaded guilty to charges for second-degree burglary and stealing connected to a January 1994 in St. Louis. He was sentenced to three years in prison for the Jefferson County incident and three years in prison for the incident in St. Louis, court records show.
Roberts also pleaded guilty in February 1996 to attempting to steal a motor vehicle in April 1994 in St. Louis County, and he pleaded guilty to a first-degree tampering charge in August 2001 tied to a September 2000 incident in St. Louis. He was sentenced to three years in prison for the attempted stealing charge, and he received a five-year sentence for the tampering charge, court records said.
Roberts pleaded guilty to a felony stealing charge in April 2011 connected to a June 2010 incident in St. Louis County and was sentenced to three years in prison, and in January 2012, he pleaded guilty to a stealing charge stemming from a May 2010 incident in St. Charles County and was sentenced to seven years in prison, according to court documents.
Court records also show Roberts was charged with misdemeanor domestic assault in 2018 and 2019 while living in the home on Adayah Drive.
If convicted of the charges tied to Monday’s alleged shooting and kidnapping, he faces 10 to 30 years or life in prison for each of the class A felonies; five to 15 years for the class B felony; seven years for the class D felony; up to four years for the class E felony; and three to 15 years in prison for the unclassified felony.