Columbia man charged after alleged burglary, kidnapping at sorority house
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
A Columbia man has been charged after he has been accused of forcing his way into a sorority house and locking himself in a room with another person at Sigma Kappa.
Jeffrey Wheeland Jr., 41, is charged with first-degree burglary, second-degree kidnapping and a fourth-degree assault. He is being held at the Boone County Jail without bond. An arraignment was held on Wednesday and Wheeland appeared by video from the jail without counsel.
A confined docket hearing is scheduled for 1 p.m. Monday. A preliminary hearing is set for 9 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 27.
The probable cause statement says police were called to a house for a suspicious person just before 7 p.m. Tuesday.
According to court documents, police found Wheeland in the basement study room in the house while he was holding multiple chef knives with the door locked and blocked by a chair. Police wrote Wheeland listened to officers when told to open the door, and he was taken into custody without incident.
Documents state that Wheeland said Columbia Police dropped him off at University Hospital for treatment but he felt unsafe and like people were chasing him.
One victim allegedly told police that they found Wheeland at the back door of the building and had asked to call police, according to court documents. The witness asked Wheeland to stay outside while he called the police. Wheeland allegedly came up the stairs and blocked the door from closing, pushing past the person who was trying to shut the door and knocking him into a wall.
A second victim allegedly told police she was in the study room when Wheeland came in, locked the door and placed a chair in front of it.
Court documents state Wheeland told the woman he was not there to hurt her, but she was too afraid to ask him to leave and thought if she did, it could have "set him off." Police said she texted her friends to call 911.
University spokesman Christopher Ave confirmed in an email on Wednesday that Wheeland was arrested after entering a sorority house and briefly holding someone against their will. Affected students have been connected with campus resources, according to Ave.
"The safety of our campus community continues to be a top priority," Ave said in an email.
Ave also wrote there is no current threat to the campus as the person was detained.
Some University of Missouri students are hoping to get more of an answer from the school. Freshman Mia Passi confirmed with ABC 17 News that she and other people did not receive a notification from the school on what happened.
"I feel like being a college student, I would never think or second guess my safety on a campus, so hearing this information is shocking," Passi said. "I'm surprised the school hasn't said anything, I think the school should prioritize everyone's safety and in order to do that, you should let everyone know that something like this is happening."
A sorority member -- who wanted to stay anonymous out of fear of possible retaliation -- said it was a scary occurrence, as most sorority houses have door access codes and security rules on keeping doors locked.
The daily crime log posted online by MU Police says officers responded to a burglary, assault and kidnapping at one of the sorority houses just before 7 p.m. Tuesday.
ABC 17 News reached out to the University of Missouri Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life. When asked if MU would issue an alert or update to students, Ave did not comment.
