U. S. Attorney Sayler A. Fleming | U.S. Department of Justice
A Missouri man, Stephen J. Thorp, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison by U.S. District Judge Sarah E. Pitlyk for his involvement in a 19-hour standoff with law enforcement officials. The incident occurred after members of a U.S. Marshals Service Fugitive Task Force attempted to arrest Thorp on charges related to resisting arrest.
Thorp, 62, was previously on parole following convictions for second-degree murder and armed criminal action in Marion County Circuit Court. The warrant for his arrest was issued by the Missouri Board of Probation and Parole due to new charges from Callaway County.
The standoff took place on April 11, 2022, when authorities tracked Thorp to a residence in Randolph County near Moberly. Despite efforts using loudspeakers, a robot, and a K-9 unit to get him out of the house, Thorp remained inside. A search warrant led the Moberly SWAT team to deploy a drone into the home; Thorp responded by firing three shots at it before disabling it with a gun.
Ultimately, he surrendered after the Missouri State Highway Patrol SWAT team used a chemical agent inside the house. In July, jurors found him guilty of being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Prosecutors highlighted past incidents involving Thorp as part of their sentencing arguments: an altercation with his mother in 2018 and leading police on a high-speed chase in 2021.
Multiple law enforcement agencies participated in his arrest including the U.S. Marshals Service, Moberly Police Department, Randolph County Sheriff’s Department, Missouri State Highway Patrol, and Linn County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ryan Finlen and Paul Rebar prosecuted the case.
This case falls under Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), an initiative aimed at reducing violent crime through collaboration between law enforcement agencies and communities.
