Police: Suspect not armed in takeover of Amish buggy

JAMESPORT, Mo. -- A robbery suspect who allegedly forced an Amish man to use a horse and buggy to take him to a mobile home in Jamesport did not do so at gunpoint, the Missouri State Highway Patrol said.

Officers arrived at a Jamesport mobile home Tuesday after receiving a report of a stolen Amish buggy.

Draper Scott Richardson, 26, of Breckenridge, Mo., was arrested after a nearly four-hour standoff and is being held on $1 million bond. Authorities allege that he commandeered the buggy days after an armed robbery at a Chillicothe, Mo., gas station Saturday.

Officers originally believed Richardson had taken the buggy at gunpoint, but the Amish couple said no gun was ever revealed, highway patrol Sgt. Sheldon Lyon said.

Richardson has been charged with first-degree assault, armed criminal action, unlawful use of a weapon and two counts of first-degree robbery.

David Michael Searcy, 22, of Chillicothe, was arrested on Saturday and a third suspect, Melanie Susan Blankenship, 18, was arrested Wednesday for her alleged participation in the armed robbery.