Esther Williams named JPD Officer of the Month for role in arrest of Joplin Honky, meth confiscation

(From the Joplin Police Department)

Officer Esther Williams December of 2018 Officer of the Month. Her award is based on the following: Officer Williams is now one of the senior patrol officers and stays active working the streets and assisting as a Training Officer for our new hires.

On December 21, 2018 at 02:31 hours Officer Williams was patrolling the Walmart parking lot at 2623 W. 7th Street in Joplin when she was seeking out suspicious activity and looking for wanted persons.

As a subject exited the store and started walking toward a parked vehicle, she believed this subject to be a known wanted fugitive.

The fugitive had a full U.S. Extradition warrant for Assault in the first degree, after shooting a male in Duenweg, Missouri. 

The fugitive was believed to be armed and dangerous, was one of the current most wanted subjects by area officers and was a documented gang member of the Joplin Honkys. 

Officer Williams contacted the suspect at the vehicle and was able to call for additional units to assist. When K9 Officer Adam Brannin arrived, the fugitive was removed from the vehicle and taken into custody. 

The passenger, was observed attempting to discard or conceal a baggy of methamphetamine and was taken into custody. A further search of his person resulted in locating a plastic baggy containing marijuana. 

Officer Brannin utilized his partner K9 Ben for a vehicle sniff. K9 Ben alerted to the presence of narcotics in the vehicle. A search of the vehicle resulted in locating a bag of approximately 30.2 grams of methamphetamine and a loaded Beretta handgun under the driver’s seat. The total weight of methamphetamine located on this contact was 31.5 grams. Due to fugitives past history and being a convicted felon, he was unable to lawfully possess a firearm. 

Thanks to Officer Williams proactive patrol work, she was able to remove a loaded handgun, 31.5 grams of methamphetamine and a violent criminal from the streets of our community. Officer Williams is a great asset to the Joplin Police Department and is deserving of the Officer of the Month for December 2018.

Respectfully,

Chief Matt Stewart