April 15th, 2025 Local News
Jefferson Co., Mo. (KFMO) - A Jefferson County jury has found 41-year-old Anthony S. Laemmel of De Soto guilty of nine felony charges stemming from a violent home invasion and assault on a sheriff’s deputy, according to court records.
The verdict, handed down March 26, includes convictions for second-degree assault of a special victim and unlawful use of a weapon involving gunfire — both Class B felonies. Laemmel was also convicted of second-degree burglary, a Class D felony; resisting arrest, unlawful use of a weapon by exhibiting, and first-degree property damage — all Class E felonies; along with three counts of armed criminal action, which are unclassified felonies.
The charges stem from a January 20, 2023, incident when Laemmel forced entry into a home in the De Soto area. Once inside, he located two firearms and discharged them inside the residence, causing extensive damage to the floor, walls, cabinets, and furniture. He also destroyed furniture before being discovered by the 65-year-old resident, who found Laemmel in a bedroom closet damaging the interior with a wooden rod. Laemmel then threatened to strike the man with the rod.
When a Jefferson County Sheriff’s deputy arrived on the scene, Laemmel refused to come out of the closet and struck the deputy in the right arm and bicep with the rod before being subdued and taken into custody.
At the time of the incident, Laemmel had been out of prison for just 11 days. He was released on January 9, 2023, after serving most of a 13-year sentence from a 2013 conviction for manufacturing marijuana in the presence of a child or near a school and first-degree endangering the welfare of a child.
Laemmel faces significant prison time. Class B felonies carry penalties of 5 to 15 years, Class D felonies up to 7 years, Class E felonies up to 4 years, and unclassified armed criminal action felonies range from 3 to 15 years each.
Laemmel is scheduled to be sentenced on June 17.
