The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office is asking for help to find Ted Treece, 31, of High Ridge, who has been charged with two felonies for reportedly attacking a man with a machete inside of a gas station on Tuesday (Aug. 24). Treece also sideswiped a school bus after fleeing the scene of the alleged assault, the Sheriff’s Office reported.
The Sheriff’s Office posted a message on its Facebook page today (Aug. 25) asking the public to help find Treece, not long after the Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office filed charges against him for first-degree assault, a class B felony punishable by five to 15 years in prison, and armed criminal action, an unclassified felony that carries a penalty of at least three years in prison.
According to the warrant issued for Treece’s arrest, he will be held without bond.
Anyone with information about Treece’s whereabouts is asked to call the Sheriff’s Office at 636-797-5515.
The alleged assault occurred at about 2:55 p.m. Tuesday after Treece, who was shirtless and wearing a bandana over his face and carrying a machete, entered the High Ridge Quick Stop, 2915 High Ridge Blvd., the Sheriff’s Office reported.
Video surveillance reportedly showed Treece approach a man playing a video game inside the convenience store. The two men, who apparently know each other, began to argue. Then, Treece allegedly hit the other man with the machete blade, leaving the man with a cut on his cheek, the probable-cause statement in the case said.
The victim got off a chair and threw something at Treece, and the two continued to argue. The victim appeared to throw a glass bottle at Treece, and then the two began to wrestle. The alleged victim got Treece in a headlock and appeared to smash a bottle over his head, according to the Sheriff's Office.
The two fell and continued to wrestle before Treece left the store. Deputies retrieved the machete from the convenience store, the report said.
Video surveillance also appeared to show Treece bleeding from his head as he left the store. Then, he reportedly got into a red Dodge Challenger and drove away from the gas station on High Ridge Boulevard to Hwy. PP to Hwy. 30 towards House Springs before getting on Hwy. MM, the Sheriff’s Office reported.
A deputy spotted the Challenger on the highway and began to follow it, although deputies did not begin chasing the car, which sideswiped a Northwest R-1 School District bus on Hwy. MM. The bus had 34 students and the driver inside at the time, the report said.
Chuck McPherson, Northwest’s coordinator of communications and community relations, said students from Valley Middle School and Northwest High School were on the bus when it was struck. He said the students and driver were not injured in the accident, which caused minimal damage to the bus.
Treece lost control of the Challenger near Heads Creek Road, and the car hit a tree. He then ran into a wooded area, the Sheriff’s Office reported.
Deputies searched the area with police dogs until about 5:45 p.m. Tuesday before stopping the man hunt. Since the Sheriff’s Office has identified the suspect as Treece, no large-scale search was not resumed this morning, spokesman Grant Bissell said.
He said it is unknown why the two men argued and fought inside the convenience store.
Treece has several previous felony convictions, including one for unlawful use of a weapon stemming from an incident on July 19, 2018, a few days after his father, Steve Earnest Treece, shot and killed his mother, Donna Treece, at their Cedar Hill Lakes home.
In March, a jury found Steve Treece guilty of first-degree murder, and the next month he was sentenced to life without parole.