An overnight, multi-agency manhunt in Glasgow ended last Tuesday afternoon with the arrest of a 34-year-old Columbia man and two unnamed juveniles, all wanted in connection with a murder in Columbia the prior Sunday. Steven James Paden and two teenagers, aged 13 and 15, all unarmed, were taken into custody without incident after officers made entry into an abandoned house on Howard Street where the three were hiding out. They were remanded into the custody of the Columbia Police Department.

The men were spotted in Glasgow on Monday after allegedly stealing items from the Casey’s convenience store. Rumors quickly spread on social media, but Howard County Sheriff Jeff Oswald said the incident at Casey’s was not an armed robbery. He did, however, caution residents of Glasgow to stay home while the suspects were being sought.

The three apparently fled to Glasgow because at least one of them had a relative there, according to Sheriff Oswald. They were spotted by police on Monday night, but eluded capture. A Missouri State Highway Patrol helicopter was deployed in the search.

Paden faces charges of second-degree murder, first-degree armed robbery, and armed criminal action. The charges all stem from an alleged robbery committed on Sunday, June 15, that resulted in the shooting death of Zarion Simpson, 18, in Columbia. Paden is being held without bond in the Boone County Jail. He is due to appear in Boone County court for a preliminary hearing on July 15.

Sheriff Oswald called the effort a “well-coordinated response. Agencies involved in the manhunt included the Glasgow Police Department, Sheriff’s departments from Howard, Saline, Chariton, Randolph, and Cooper counties, the Fayette Police Department, the highway patrol, and the NoMo Drug Task Force.