Proclaimed sovereign citizen, kidnapping suspect represents himself in court
Jan. 17—The Missouri man accused of helping a woman kidnap her own children from their Stillwater foster home is representing himself as trial proceedings begin.
Elijah Erlebach, 31, appeared in court on Friday where he proclaimed his innocence.
Public defender Sarah Kennedy was initially provided to Erlebach for his preliminary hearing in December, but he refused to let her represent him. Judge Susan Worthington determined it was a voluntary decision, and Kennedy was removed as his counsel.
Erlebach is charged with child stealing, possession of a firearm during commission of a felony and obstructing an officer.
During Friday's arraignment, Erlebach frequently repeated himself, interrupted proceedings with defiant behavior and was ultimately removed from the court and given official documentation to represent himself.
"On or for the record, I am innocent," Erlebach said when Judge Phillip Corley asked if he had an attorney.
Erlebach will reappear in court Feb. 10 at 9 a.m.
Samantha Ricks, the children's mother, appeared in court moments later. She initially refused counsel in October, but she later wrote a letter to Worthington requesting a court appointed attorney. Virginia Banks was chosen to represent her.
In December 2021, Oklahoma Child Protective Services placed Ricks' two kids into a foster home in Stillwater after she was found unfit to be a mother for exposing her children to inappropriate sexual behavior, according to an OCPS report.
Ricks and Erlebach are accused of pulling up in a truck outside the foster home and grabbing the 6-year-old daughter while she was riding her bike — with the intention of going back for the 5-year-old son, according to the probable cause affidavit.
A Payne County deputy pulled them over, and Ricks told him the State kidnapped her children and she was taking them back, according to the deputy.
Erlebach's truck had a sovereign citizen tag and he presented a sovereign citizen ID, telling officers he was not allowed to be detained or arrested. The deputy said Erlebach and Ricks initially refused to comply with instructions.
The deputy and the children's foster dad, a reserve deputy himself, said they drew their weapons on Ricks when she refused to exit the vehicle and release the girl into their custody.
Erlebach had two fully loaded pistol magazines on his person, and an AR-15 was found in the truck with a loaded magazine and a bullet in the chamber, according to an affidavit. He allegedly told officers he could not give them his social security number and he provided them with an incorrect date of birth.
Ricks and Erlebach face up to 21 years in prison if they are convicted on all charges.
