Felon who threatened driver, bar patrons in Butler Co. with gun sentenced to 5.5 years in prison

BUTLER COUNTY, Mo. (KFVS) - A convicted felon who threatened a driver and bar patrons with a gun was sentenced to 5.5 years in prison.

Donald Edward Christie, Jr., 37, pleaded guilty in January to a felony charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm. As part of the plea, he admitted possessing a firearm on two occasions on February 12, 2022.

According to a release from the office of U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Missouri, Sayler Fleming, the first was reported to the Butler County Sheriff’s Department about 15 minutes after midnight.

A driver told deputies they were followed from a gas station by someone the driver believed to be a law enforcement officer in an SUV. After the victim pulled over, the driver of the SUV got out with what appeared to be an AK-style rifle, chambered a round and demanded the victim turn off their vehicle and provide ID.

According to the plea agreement, the man returned, gave the victim’s ID back and said, “You never saw me, and I never saw you.”

About 30 minutes later, deputies received another call, this time from a rural bar, reporting a man with a firearm.

When deputies arrived, they found bar patrons holding Christie down.

Witnesses told deputies that he’d entered the bar and become confrontational with those inside. He had a pistol in his pocket and the bartender asked him to leave.

According to the plea agreement, Christie said that he had a “machine gun” in his vehicle and was going to get it and kill them.

The bartender tried to hold the door shut when Christie returned, but he pushed his way inside.

Using what appeared to be a rifle, Christie ordered the occupants to move behind the bar.

He was taken down from behind by a patron, and patrons and the bartender disarmed him.

According to the plea agreement, Christie had a 9mm Striborg SP9A3 semi automatic pistol with a brace, which resembled a short-barreled rifle or submachine gun, and a Bryco .380-caliber pistol.

The case was investigated by the Butler County Sheriff’s Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Willis prosecuted the case.