ST. LOUIS, Missouri — Thousands of people celebrating Independence Day along the parade route in downtown St. Louis last Thursday were being watched by an armed wanted man.
St. Louis police responded to an alert about a suspicious character who was perched atop a downtown parking garage rooftop at 604 Pine Street. The rooftop overlooks Kiener Plaza and Market Street where paradegoers and protesters were gathering in large numbers.
That's where officers arrested Trentston Sappington, a 23-year-old Granite City man. A law enforcement source told 5 On Your Side officers found him "armed" and "overlooking a large crowd of people gathered for the 4th of July festivities."
When police interviewed him, they said he "appeared to be in a depressive state and possibly in a mental health crises," a law enforcement source said. "His true intentions for being on the rooftop were never revealed."
Police did not say how much ammunition he had at the time of his arrest.
Officers promptly took him into custody and ran background checks on the two semi-automatic pistols. Scans of firearms databases showed one was reported stolen; the other matched the description of another alleged crime in Alton in January.
Court records show Sappington was due to appear in court the next day in Illinois. He never appeared. His defense attorney Jeremy Sackett said he filed a motion to continue the July 5 hearing due to personal illness. Sackett said he was unaware that his client had been arrested across state lines in violation of the conditions of his release.
Because Sappington did not have a concealed carry permit, he was also in violation of the city's new open carry ban. That new local ordinance allowed officers to seize his weapons and hold them in a police evidence locker while prosecutors review charges.
The Alton police department issued a warrant for Sappington's arrest back in March after investigating a January shooting at a crowded intersection of Belle and W. 3rd streets. Court records show Sappington did not have a Firearm Owner's ID (FOID) card. No injuries were reported in that shooting incident.
Three months later, campus police at Southern Illinois University in Edwardsville pulled Sappington over in June for expired tags. That routine traffic stop triggered an alert about his pending warrant. He entered a "not guilty" plea.
Under Illinois' new law that abolishes cash bail, prosecutors can file a motion to seek pretrial detention for forcible felonies. On both counts, the alleged crimes would've qualified for pretrial detention. Madison County State's Attorney Tom Haine did not initially file a motion seeking detention before Sappington's trial.
In an emailed statement, Haine highlighted what he views as "constraints" in the new law.
“The new standards outlined in the SAFE-T Act give every criminal defendant, no matter how serious the charge, a presumption of pretrial release," Haine said. "Under these constraints, we seek to hold dangerous individuals wherever possible, reviewing the facts of each case individually with the local law enforcement agency involved."
Under the old cash bail system, defendants accused of violent crimes could pay bond and get out of jail until their trial. Under the new law, when prosecutors convince a judge that a defendant poses a danger to the public, the accused defendant must remain behind bars until their trial.
In this case, the conditions of Sappington's release said "you shall surrender all firearms" to a law enforcement officer. It's unclear why Sappington never handed over his weapons after he was criminally charged.
The same document also warned him that "it is a Federal crime to ship, transport, or receive a firearm or ammunition while you are under indictment."
Upon learning of Sappington's arrest in St. Louis, Haine's office has now filed a motion asking a judge to detain Sappington.
"We cannot comment on those discussions, but we can confirm that we have filed a petition to revoke the defendant’s pretrial release, asking that he be held pending the resolution of these cases," Haine said.