Lee Trawick
Reporter2@riverbendnews.org
On Thursday, June 23, the Suwannee County Sheriff's Office (SCSO) was in the midst of investigating recent burglaries and thefts when they arrived at the residence of 34-year-old Joseph Leuschner at the 4700 block of 180th Street, in McAlpin. Upon arriving at the residence, investigators noticed three other occupants of the home, including 34-year-old Joshua Walter Feagle, 23-year-old Susan Rena Conrad, and 23-year-old Toknowya M. Stover, all of Wellborn. After speaking with the homeowner, who refused to allow investigators to search his property for several items in question, the SCSO investigators petitioned for a legal search warrant.
While waiting for a warrant to be signed, it was determined that Feagle, who was already a suspect in several burglaries, had an active felony arrest warrant for violation of probation and was listed as an absconder. When confronted by investigators, the situation escalated quickly when he and his girlfriend, Conrad, along with their daughter, retreated into the home, where they barricaded themselves in a bedroom and refused to come out. At that point, investigators requested additional deputies and deployed the Suwannee County SWAT team. SCSO Crisis Negotiator Stephanie Cheshire made contact with Feagle, who spoke with him for almost two hours. She was able to de-escalate the situation and convince Feagle to surrender without any further altercation.
Although the SWAT team was on the scene, their primary objective was to act as a deterrent and prevent the situation from further escalating. With complete confidence in Crisis Negotiator Cheshire, the SWAT team patiently waited on standby without ever-intensifying the situation by deploying into action. While executing a thorough legal search of the property, investigators located numerous items of stolen property, along with illegal drugs and drug paraphernalia that resulted in all four occupants being arrested and transported to Suwannee County Jail.
Leuschner was charged with possession of a controlled substance (methamphetamine), possession of fewer than 20 grams of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia, burglary and grand theft of a firearm. Feagle was charged with child neglect, resisting an officer without violence, burglary, grand theft of a firearm, and violation of probation. Conrad was charged with child neglect and resisting an officer without violence. Stover was charged with possession of a controlled substance (methamphetamine), possession of fewer than 20 grams of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia, and resisting an officer without violence.