Twin brothers were arrested in Poplar Bluff earlier this month with several guns, over 1,500 rounds of ammunition and allegedly planning to kill multiple people authorities say.
Joseph Michael Price and Benjamin Tyler Price, both 32, of Ripley County are being held by the U.S. Marshal's Service and are each charged with mental defective in possession of a firearm, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Keith Sorrell. A preliminary hearing was held Wednesday in Cape Girardeau, Mo.
"We feel like we avoided a major catastrophe," Butler County Sheriff Mark Dobbs said. "It's frightening to think about what very well might have happened had we not intercepted the two men."
According to Dobbs, officers arrived around 7 a.m. Dec. 5 at the Minit Food Mart on Highway 67 North in Poplar Bluff to find the Price brothers.
"A family member was concerned for their well being and helped us locate them at the Minit Food Mart," Dobbs said.
Officers immediately made contact outside the convenience store with Benjamin Price.
During a check for weapons to ensure officer safety, Dobbs said Deputies Aaron Pratt and Adam Miles found a handgun as well as numerous fully loaded, high-capacity magazines.
Benjamin then allegedly told officers his twin brother, Joseph, was inside the convenience store with a loaded handgun.
Dobbs and Lt. Charles Phelps arrived to assist and the two approached Joseph inside the convenience store and searched.
Dobbs said no handgun was found on Joseph, but the store clerk informed officers Price was in the restroom prior to their arrival. The search of the restroom revealed a loaded .40-caliber handgun in the reserve tank of the toilet.
A search of the truck the two men were in, Dobbs said, revealed over 1,500 rounds of .40-caliber ammunition to include 18 loaded high-capacity magazines.
Also found was a loaded shotgun and two ammunition belts containing 55 rounds of 00 buckshot.
Through the course of the investigation, Dobbs said it was learned the two men had planned to kill several people.
"There was no list of specific individuals named or anything like that," he said. "But these men amassed all these weapons and ammunition for killing numerous individuals."
After realizing the brothers were prohibited from possessing firearms having been previously mentally adjudicated, Dobbs said his department reached out to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives for assistance and a federal charge.
"In this case, we evaluated the situation once we seized all the weapons and we all were very much alarmed about what could have happened," Dobbs said.
Collectively, the Butler County Sheriff's Department, U.S. Marshals' Service and ATF are investigating as to how the two men obtained the guns.
"It's unclear to me whether they will face a long prison sentence or some type of confinement for further mental health treatment," Dobbs said.