Judge moves forward with case against two women charged in connection with officer-involved shooting
PARIS, Mo. (KMIZ)
A judge has ordered the prosecution to move forward against two women accused of harboring a man who got into a deadly shootout with law enforcement.
The state presented parts of its case against Patty and Lois Armour on Friday in a preliminary hearing in front of a Monroe County judge. Judge Talley Smith found probable cause to bind them over to circuit court for trial.
Both women have been held in the Randolph County Jail without bond since their arrests. Monroe County does not have a grand jury, so the preliminary hearing helped establish probable cause to move to a jury trial. The state presented some evidence, and witnesses testified.
Lois and Patty Armour are accused of hiding Charles Armour before he was killed in a shootout with law enforcement. The probable cause statements say that law enforcement went to the Armour residence in search of Charles after speaking with both women. The women allegedly claimed Charles Armour was not at the residence.
Lois Armous is Charles' mother, and Patty is his wife.
Officers were given permission to search the home and found Charles Armour in a bathroom with a handgun, the statement says. He then allegedly fired at the responding officers and hit a Randolph County deputy. Charles Armour, 57, was killed by return fire and identified by law enforcement as a person of interest in a Ralls County homicide investigation.
Charles Armour is accused of killing Jonathan Floyd, 55, of Perry, Missouri.
Missouri State Highway Patrol Sgt. Derek Powell testified during Lois Armour's hearing and the prosecution showed body camera video of officers searching for Charles Armour and encountering him.
Powell, another MSHP trooper and Randolph County Sheriff's Deputy Nathaniel West met at the Armour residence on Oct. 12 in search of Charles. West was the officer that encountered him in the bathroom, seconds later the shootout ensued.
Audio of a conversation between Powell and Patty Armour was also played during her hearing, in which Patty said that she knew Charles Armour was wanted for murder and was on the run.
The audio also provided some insight into a possible motive behind Floyd's murder that Charles Armour is alleged to have been involved in. In the audio Patty is heard detailing a love triangle that Charles and Floyd were apart of. Patty said Charles was having an affair with Ashley Williams. However, Williams was having a separate affair with Floyd while with Charles Armour.
The defense argued that the state has not shown beyond a reasonable doubt that Lois or Patty Armour knew that Charles Armour was at the house. Ultimately, the judge sided with the state.
A Randolph County deputy hit by gunfire was flown to a hospital. The deputy -- who has not been named -- was welcomed home to Moberly after his hospital stay.
Lois and Patty Armour's next hearing is set for 10 a.m. Thursday Jan. 8.
