At least one of three Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office deputies who were trying to arrest Anthony Joseph Stratmann Jr., 37, of Imperial this morning, Feb. 26, south of Festus ended up shooting the suspect, who died on the scene from his injuries.
Stratmann was shot after he allegedly threatened deputies with a hammer when they tried to take him into custody for a felony warrant, Sheriff Dave Marshak said.
The shooting occurred at about 11:30 a.m. As of this afternoon, the Sheriff’s Office and Joachim-Plattin Ambulance district could not provide a time of death.
Bissell said the shooting occurred after a detective and two deputies went inside a mobile home in the 400 block of Montauk Drive south of Festus to arrest Stratmann. He said it was not known how many deputies shot at Stratmann or how many shots were fired.
Anthony Joseph Stratmann Jr.
The Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office had charged Stratmann on Feb. 23 with first-degree making a terrorist threat, a class D felony punishable by up to seven years in prison. Stratmann was charged two days after he allegedly threatened to kill four Jefferson County judges and anyone who tried to stop him at the Jefferson County Courthouse, according to the probable-cause statement in the case.
Sheriff’s Office spokesman Grant Bissell said plain-clothed detectives were monitoring the mobile home in the Lifestyle Mobile Home Park because one of Stratmann’s relatives lives at the park. He said detectives saw Stratmann at about 8:45 a.m. and called for additional deputies to execute the arrest warrant.
When additional deputies arrived, Stratmann was on the porch of the mobile home, but he went inside and locked the front door when they approached. A woman who lives at the home let the detective and two deputies into the home through the back door, Bissell said.
Stratmann allegedly threatened the deputies and acted aggressively toward them while holding a hammer. The deputies ordered him to drop the hammer, and when he did not, at least one of the deputies attempted used a stun gun to try to subdue Stratmann, Bissell said.
When the stun gun did not stop Stratmann, at least one of the deputies shot at Stratmann, Bissell said.
No one else was injured in the mobile home, the Sheriff’s Office reported.
Bissell said the detective and two deputies have been put on paid administrative leave until they complete interviews about the shooting, adding that he did not know how long the deputies would be on paid administrative leave.
Bissell said the deputies also will talk with a mental health professional about the shooting.
“Officer-involved shootings are the most comprehensive investigations, and they tend to be the most scrutinized,” Marshak said. “The collection of evidence and data alone may take months, and in this case, there is a lot of data that will need to be recovered.
“Beyond that, detectives have been interviewing family, friends, other potential witnesses, etc., and all of those interviews will have to be transcribed. The entire process will take months to complete, but in part that is attributed to the length of time for outlets to respond to subpoenas and search warrants. A simultaneous internal investigation is standard in officer-involved shootings.”
The Sheriff’s Office recently had been in contact with Stratmann after he started making odd statements on the department’s Facebook page in either December or January, Bissell said, adding that a mental health counselor had been working with Stratmann.
Bissell also said Stratmann had attempted to arrest an off-duty deputy who was in a marked patrol vehicle on Feb. 8.
Bissell said he did not know where the incident occurred, but Stratmann was not arrested and instead was taken to Mercy Jefferson Hospital in Crystal City for evaluation.
“Unfortunately, (Stratmann) was released the next day to navigate the world again,” Marshak said.
Bissell said the detective and deputies who were in the mobile home did not have previous contact with Stratmann.
“Our intent today was to bring him into custody and bring him to a hospital,” Bissell said. “We had a commitment order in hand to bring him into custody and take him to the hospital to get him the mental health assistance that he needed. Unfortunately, that did not play out that way today.”
According to the probable-cause statement, Stratmann spoke to two clerks in the Jefferson County Circuit Clerks Office on Feb. 21. He allegedly told the clerks that government entities were “stealing his property, reading his mind and generally conspiring against him.”
Stratmann also allegedly told the clerks that several judges and Marshak “helped cover up the murder of his children, which were purportedly committed by deputies,” the report said.
Bissell said Stratmann has two children, who are alive.
Stratmann reportedly told the clerks he was going to go to the Courthouse in Hillsboro and shoot judges Carl Yates, Ed Page, Antonio Manansala and Katherine Hardy Senkel. He also allegedly threatened to shoot anyone who tried to stop him, according to the report.
Stratmann also allegedly told one of the clerks that she was in danger and needed to quit her job, according to the report.
Stratmann had pleaded guilty in October 2021 to first-degree stalking, a class E felony, and in February and March of that year to two charges of violating a protection order, a class A misdemeanor. He was sentenced to 180 days in jail for stalking and 30 days in jail for each protection order violation, according to court records.
“We respond to 700 to 800 suicidal subjects annually and have an excellent track record in minimizing force encounters,” Marshak said. “Our goal is to resolve situations peacefully for both the person in crisis and the officers we are thrusting into often no-win situations. Our crisis response team is currently working with the families and friends of 43 other high-risk persons in the county to minimize police response and the likelihood of a force encounter.
“We must consider the totality of people hurt by this incident, including the officers, the family, our mental health team that was working with the family, and supervisors making decisions on the scene. I pray for all those impacted by this incident.”