A man wounded by a Franklin County deputy last week has been charged in a St. Louis County felony warrant with auto theft.
A $40,000 bond was set in that case against Timothy J. Kalter, 31, who is recovering in a St. Louis hospital.
Franklin County authorities said Monday that they did not know Kalter’s condition but he is expected to fully recover.
Sheriff Gary Toelke said that St. Louis County plans to take Kalter into custody on the warrant and house him in jail once a doctor determines that he is fit for confinement.
Kalter is expected to face additional charges in Franklin County circuit court in connection with the confrontation with deputies last Thursday. Prosecuting Attorney Bob Parks said he is still waiting on reports from the sheriff’s office before deciding on issuing charges here.
There is an outstanding Franklin County warrant on Kalter for a probation violation in a 2010 case involving the theft of two credit cards. That incident was investigated by Washington police. Bond on that warrant was set at $75,000.
Kalter was struck by at least one bullet in a confrontation with Sgt. Travis Blankenship who was attempting to arrest the suspect at a Villa Ridge gas station shortly after 3 p.m. Thursday.
Blankenship had reached through the window to grab the ignition key of a car that Kalter was driving and his arm got tangled in the steering wheel as Kalter began driving off. Blankenship fired at least two shots into the car before freeing himself, according to reports.
Kalter was arrested about an hour after the shooting after driving the reported stolen car into St. Louis County to the Eureka area and back into Franklin County. When officers stopped the vehicle on westbound Interstate 44 at Pacific a woman was driving the car. Police said Kalter apparently picked her up and that she was driving him to the hospital when the stop occurred.
Suspect Sought
At a meeting earlier Thursday, investigators developed a plan to arrest Kalter who was being sought for questioning in several auto theft cases in St. Louis and Franklin counties.
The man already had eluded officers several times over the past two weeks by leading them on high-speed chases that often exceeded 100 mph. In those instances, officers discontinued the chases due to safety.
A plainclothes officer staked out the Gardenway Motel about 3 p.m. Thursday waiting for Kalter to show up. The officer saw Kalter drive by and attempted to follow him but lost sight of Kalter’s car, a blue Ford Mustang that had been reported stolen Wednesday night.
A short time later, Blankenship saw Kalter pumping gas at the Petro Mart station at Highway 100 and Route AT and attempted the arrest.
After his arrest, Kalter was transported by ambulance to Mercy Hospital Washington then transferred later to Mercy Hospital St. Louis.
Sheriff Toelke has requested the Missouri State Highway Patrol to conduct an investigation of the shooting.
