By Amber Ruch
POPLAR BLUFF, MO (KFVS) - Twin men from Poplar Bluff, Missouri were arrested with thousands of rounds of ammunition and allegedly planned to kill multiple people.
Benjamin Tyler Price and Joseph Michael Price, 32, are in federal custody on gun charges.
According to court documents, on December 5, around 7 a.m., the Butler County Sheriff’s Office received a report that Benjamin and Joseph Price were missing and the caller was concerned about their welfare.
The men were reportedly at a Minit-Mart convenience store in Poplar Bluff.
According to court documents, in May 2013, a Judgement of Incapacity was issued by the Ripley County Circuit Court that found Benjamin and Joseph Price were “totally incapacitated by reason of respondent’s mental condition and is unable to care for self.” According to federal regulations, persons who have been adjudicated as mentally incapacitated are prohibited from having guns and/or ammunition.
On Dec. 3, 2018, an application was filed with the Butler County Circuit Court alleging “acute psychosis” and that they could be “dangers to themselves and others.” It was approved by the court for a 96-hour detention for evaluation and treatment.
According to the court documents, officers arrived at the Minit-Mart and found a GMC truck with Benjamin Price standing next to it. They placed him in handcuffs.
When he was searched, Benjamin Price court documents state he had numerous pistol magazines on his person, all of which were loaded with pistol ammunition. Officers say they also found a black ski mask in one of his pockets.
While taking the magazines from him, Benjamin Price allegedly told officers that he also had a shotgun, pistol and other ammunition inside the truck. He allegedly told them that the “military was after them” and that there was a hit out on his life and he armed himself for protection.
Officers say Benjamin Price told them Joseph Price was inside the Minit-Mart store.
Officers searched the truck and say they found a Maverick, 12-gauge shotgun inside. They say they also found a Hi-Point, .40 caliber pistol.
When officers went inside the store to find Joseph Price, they say employees told them he was in the restroom. When they went inside, officers say they found Joseph Price inside and a pistol in the water tank of the toilet. He was handcuffed.
According to court documents, the pistol was a Hi-Point, 9mm caliber pistol.
With the Price brothers' permission, officers searched the truck and said they found 1,000 rounds of Remington brand, .40 and 9mm caliber pistol ammunition in the truck and on both men, along with 110 rounds of Selleir and Bellot shotgun ammunition, mace, knives, masks, a flashlight and other items.
According to officers, the shotgun ammunition was “00” buckshot, which they say it a particularly lethal round because each round contains 12 pellets of .22 caliber-size projectiles.
Officers say these rounds are designed to disperse when fired, creating a pattern of projectiles.
Court documents state all three guns and the ammunition found were manufactured in states other than Missouri.
Both Benjamin and Joseph Price were taken to a psychiatric hospital where they were examined.
Both men allegedly told doctors that they were planning to kill multiple people.
Copyright 2018 KFVS. All rights reserved.
