Let's Go Blues

Smithton suspect was ordered to stay away from wife


By Nicholas J.C. Pistor
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
04/06/2009

UPDATE: 4:02 P.M.

SMITHTON -- A judge ordered a Smithton man to stay away from his estranged wife just two weeks before police say he broke into a Smithton home today and tried to hold her hostage.

Police did not release the name of the suspect, who is in critical condition after shooting himself in the head this morning. But court documents and a source close to the case confirmed the suspect is Terris Stahl, 34, of Smithton.

When Erin Stahl told her husband last month she wanted a divorce, he refused, according to court records.

"Terris threatened to kill me with a gun that he had...he kept poking me in the chest with his fingers yelling that he will never let me go, I am his forever," Erin Stahl wrote in a petition for a restraining order. The order was granted on March 23.

Erin Stahl, 29, called the police last month after she said her husband threatened to beat her with a lamp.

"He kept calling me on my cell phone saying that he wasn’t going to leave me alone...that I am his wife and always will be," she wrote.

Monday morning, Terris Stahl broke into the back door of the home around 4 a.m. and attempted to hold four people inside hostage. All of them, including the couple’s 4 year-old child, were able to escape.

Stahl remained in the home for about eight hours. Police surrounded the home and attempted to communicate with him, at one point throwing tear gas into the home. Around noon, they prepared to send in a robotic camera, but noticed Stahl was lying down on the home’s living room floor. They entered the home and took him into custody.

Stahl survived an apparent gunshot wound to the head, police said. He was airlifted to a St. Louis hospital.

The standoff came less than a month after Erin Stahl filed for divorce. The two were married in 2005 about 10 months after their only child was born, according to court records.

Terris Stahl worked at Hertz Rental Equipment in St. Louis, according to court records. He was ordered to pay child support of $150 per week.
Stahl was arrested last week for violating the restraining order. Charges involving Monday’s incident haven’t been filed.

Tuesday, Apr. 07, 2009
Township candidate takes wife hostage; shoots himself during Smithton standoff
BY JENNIFER A. BOWEN AND JACQUELINE LEE - News-Democrat
http://www.bnd.com/homepage/story/719955.html

SMITHTON -- A Prairie du Long Township highway commissioner candidate remained hospitalized Monday night in critical condition after shooting himself during an eight-hour police standoff that began as a domestic hostage situation.

Terris Stahl, 34, of Smithton, will remain on today's ballot and is eligible for election, St. Clair County Clerk Bob Delaney said.

"He probably won't be able to vote, but he could be elected," Delaney said. "If he gets elected, and then if he gets convicted, that's up to Prairie du Long to handle that. If he gets sent to prison, he won't be able to serve."
Smithton stand-off Smithton stand-off Smithton stand-off Smithton stand-off Smithton stand-off Smithton stand-off Smithton stand-off
Police officers walk down Rockledge Trail on Monday morning. - Derik Holtmann/BND

Officers responded to a 4:11 a.m. call and discovered an armed man had forced his way into a home at 4806 Rockledge Trail in Smithton with four individuals, including his estranged wife and their 4-year-old child.

Three of the hostages escaped the single-story home unharmed after the standoff began with police, leaving the wife alone with the gunman. Gunshots were heard when the 911 call was made, and again when the wife escaped about 7:30 a.m.

Police found the man on the floor of the living room and he was rushed to a local hospital by ambulance about 12:30 p.m. He had a what police believe was a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head but had a pulse and was slightly responsive to medical personnel, St. Clair County Sheriff's Capt. Steve Johnson said.

Police have not released the man's name, and will not do so unless charges are filed against him, but Prairie Du Long officials have confirmed the man's identity.

Stahl's father, Terry Stahl, is the township's current highway commissioner and Stahl's grandfather, Walter Stahl, also held the position, Prairie Du Long Supervisor John Kaiser said.

"I didn't really know the man that well because I mostly associated with his father, but he wanted three generations of Stahls and tomorrow the votes will decide that," Kaiser said. "We sure hope the best for the family and that as much good that can come out of this does."

Court records show that Terris Stahl -- who now lives with his parents at 5921 Robinson School Road near Smithton -- was arrested for violating an order of protection March 30 when he called his estranged wife, Erin Stahl. He is scheduled to appear in court April 24 for the misdemeanor.

Stahl was transferred to St. Louis University Hospital, where he remains in critical condition.

"We had been introducing gas into the residence in an attempt to get him to come out," Johnson said. "After all communication failed, we opened the front door to attempt to send in remote cameras to assess the situation and see where he was. That's when we found the subject down on the floor in the living room."

A SWAT team introduced at least six rounds of gas canisters into the home, Johnson said. About 9 a.m., an officer on a bullhorn asked "Terris" to give them an indication showing that he was all right by turning on a light, opening the garage door or calling by telephone. There was no response.

"We always try to wait the longest time we can," Johnson said. "But it gets to the point where we can't let it go on any longer without a response, which is why we decided to attempt to send the cameras in. This entire time that individual was lying there with a gunshot wound. but we had no idea until we entered the residence. Everything in these situations is geared towards the safety of the officers and those civilians who are around."

A SWAT team from the Illinois Law Enforcement Alarm System Region 8 Special Response Team and the St. Clair County/Belleville Special Response Team were at the scene maintaining a perimeter. Armed officers in riot gear took up positions near the home.

Other police agencies on hand included the Illinois State Police, Smithton police, Millstadt police, Freeburg police, New Athens police, officers from Belleville and the emergency response team from Alton.

Police cars blocked the entrance to the Ledgestone Estates subdivision off Illinois 159 in the early dawn hours, and residents near the home involved in the situation were evacuated as a safety precaution.

"He probably won't be able to vote, but he could be elected," Delaney said. "If he gets elected, and then if he gets convicted, that's up to Prairie du Long to handle that. If he gets sent to prison, he won't be able to serve."
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Police found the man on the floor of the living room...

abc789987 wrote:

Police found the man on the floor of the living room...

So how long after he shot himself did the cops find him? I would think they would hear a gunshot and kind of rush in to see what happened...

Mellanby_equals_grit wrote:

abc789987 wrote:

Police found the man on the floor of the living room...

So how long after he shot himself did the cops find him? I would think they would hear a gunshot and kind of rush in to see what happened...

That sounds like retarded procedure to know someone in there has a gun and is shooting and to rush right in.

abc789987 wrote:

Police found the man on the floor of the living room...

So how long after he shot himself did the cops find him? I would think they would hear a gunshot and kind of rush in to see what happened...

Mellanby_equals_grit wrote:

"He probably won't be able to vote, but he could be elected," Delaney said. "If he gets elected, and then if he gets convicted, that's up to Prairie du Long to handle that. If he gets sent to prison, he won't be able to serve."
Smithton stand-off Smithton stand-off Smithton stand-off Smithton stand-off Smithton stand-off Smithton stand-off Smithton stand-off

Where was this at?