Jefferson County deputies fatally wound man while attempting to serve warrant
FESTUS, Mo. – Deputies with the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office shot and killed a man Monday morning while attempting to serve him with an arrest warrant.
According to Grant Bissell, a sheriff’s office spokesperson, the shooting occurred at a mobile home park in the 400 block of Montauk Drive near Festus.
Plain-clothed detectives were conducting surveillance around 8:45 a.m. when they saw the subject of their arrest warrant, identified as Anthony “TJ” Stratmann Jr., walking outside a family member’s residence.
Prosecutors had charged Stratmann on February 23 with one count of making a terrorist threat. Bissell said law enforcement had been granted a commitment order, which would have allowed them to take Stratmann into custody and bring him to a hospital for a mental health evaluation and possible treatment.
The detectives alerted the sheriff’s office, which dispatched deputies to arrest Stratmann.
Stratmann was on the porch when deputies arrived. Stratmann retreated inside the mobile home and locked the door behind him. Another person inside the mobile home let deputies in through a rear door around 11:30 a.m. in order to attempt an arrest, Bissell said.
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Investigators claim Stratmann grabbed a hammer and threatened deputies.
Deputies deployed a stun gun as a less-lethal means of subduing Stratmann, but those efforts were unsuccessful, Bissell said.
Stratmann continued acting aggressive and threatening the deputies. At least one of the deputies shot Stratmann, who died inside the mobile home. He was 37.
No deputies were injured during the ordeal.
According to a probable cause statement filed by the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, Anthony J. Stratmann called the circuit clerk’s office last week to issue his threats.
The sheriff’s office claims Stratmann spoke with two clerks during the phone call, accusing the county government of stealing his property, reading his mind, and conspiring against him.
Stratmann accused sheriff’s deputies of killing his two children and said several judges and the county sheriff helped to cover it up. Bissell said the children are alive and in the custody of their mother, Stratmann’s ex-wife.
Stratmann identified four judges as targets and said he would come to the courthouse and shoot them and anyone else who tried to stop him.
Bissell said the sheriff’s office spoke with Stratmann on multiple occasions, going back to either January or December 2023
Bissell said mental health professionals working with the sheriff’s office reached out to Stratmann to peacefully adjudicate the situation.
The sheriff’s office claims Stratmann had previously attempted to overtake a marked patrol vehicle to make a citizen’s arrest of an unidentified law enforcement officer.
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