Jamie Critchlow
Jamie Critchlow, a former Fox C-6 School District administrator, has been charged with two felonies and four misdemeanors after he allegedly threatened a teenage boy with a knife and abducted a 9-year-old boy, court documents said.
The Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office charged Critchlow with first-degree burglary, a class B felony, unlawful use of a weapon, a class E felony, third-degree kidnapping, a class A misdemeanor, and three counts of fourth-degree assault, a class C misdemeanor, following an Aug. 9 incident in Olympian Village, court records show.
Critchlow, 47, of Hillsboro was being held today (Aug. 11) in Jefferson County Jail on no bond, according to court documents. An attorney was not listed for him.
The probable-cause statement in the case said at about 11:30 p.m. Aug. 9, Critchlow was driving a pickup in the 2900 block of Parthenon Drive when he stopped to talk to a group of juveniles. Critchlow and the children began to argue, and he got out of the pickup, allegedly removed a knife from his pocket and confronted a 14-year-old boy.
Critchlow allegedly told the teen, “I’m going to shave your face with this.” The teenager took the knife from Critchlow and then ran away, the report said.
Critchlow chased after the teenager, and when he couldn’t find the teen, he allegedly grabbed a 9-year-old boy by the arm who had been in the group he initially confronted.
Critchlow allegedly told the child he would hit him with a motorcycle helmet if the boy didn’t tell him where the teen lived, and the boy complied because he feared for his safety, according to the report.
The boy led Critchlow to the teenager’s home, where Critchlow banged on the door until the teen’s father answered. He then allegedly threatened to kill the father and the teen, the report said.
Critchlow, who was still holding the 9-year-old’s arm, ordered the child to tell him where he lived and then went to the boy’s home, the probable-cause statement said.
Critchlow allegedly opened the door to the 9-year-old’s home, entered and then began yelling at the child’s mother, who was sleeping on a couch in the living room. The boy’s mother said the door to her home was unlocked and that Critchlow appeared to be intoxicated, the report said.
Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office deputies had been called to the area because of the disturbances and found Critchlow as he was exiting the 9-year-old boy’s home. Critchlow allegedly was yelling about the teenager who took his knife and told the deputy he wanted to “shave that little (expletive’s) face,” the report said.
The teenager gave deputies the knife Critchlow had allegedly threatened him with, the probable-cause statement said.
Critchlow allegedly told investigators he had been drinking but was not intoxicated. He said he had been on Parthenon Drive because he was looking for property to buy and had been on his way to return to a campsite at St. Francois State Park Campground, the report said.
Critchlow said he had stopped the juveniles to ask for directions and that the teenager threatened to kill him. Critchlow said he told the teen if he was going to assault him, the teen could use his knife. He said he then handed the teenager the knife, which was folded and the blade wasn’t exposed, according to the report.
Critchlow said the teenager then ran away with the knife, and the 9-year-old boy willingly helped him find the teen’s home. He said he never grabbed the boy, who led him to the teen’s house, except for when he pulled him out of the street to protect the child from being hit by a speeding truck, the probable-cause statement said.
Critchlow said he did go to the teenager’s house, but he denied threatening the teen’s father or the teen. He also said he returned the 9-year-old boy to the child’s home, and he did enter the home because the door was open, and did talk with the child’s mom, the report said.
Critchlow could be sentenced to five to 15 years in prison if he is convicted of the class B felony, and the class E felony carries a penalty of up to four years in prison. A class A misdemeanor is punishable by up to one year in jail and a possible fine of up to $2,000, and a class C misdemeanor carries a penalty of 15 days in jail and a possible fine of up to $700.
Critchlow was the director of the Bridges Alternative School in the Fox C-6 School District before he was fired in 2014, amid allegations that computers at his home (and the home of his then-wife, former Fox Superintendent Dianne Critchlow) had allegedly been used to post derogatory comments on the Arnold Topix website about three district residents.
Dianne Critchlow was later accused by the Missouri Auditor’s Office of misspending taxpayer money to benefit herself and her then-husband, but she was not charged by the state or the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
In 2017, Jamie Critchlow was sentenced to seven years in prison for felony DWI. However, the sentence was suspended, and after Critchlow served 60 days in jail, he was released on five years’ probation, court records show.
Jamie Critchlow received the felony sentence in 2017 because it was the fourth time he had been convicted of driving while under the influence.