Updated

Updated · abcnews.com · Aug 19

Missouri Deck Collapse Drops 9 U.S. Marshals Officers During Arrest Attempt, Injuring 7

Updated

Updated · abcnews.com · Aug 19

Missouri Deck Collapse Drops 9 U.S. Marshals Officers During Arrest Attempt, Injuring 7

Q: How did a wanted sex offender temporarily evade capture while the deck beneath the arresting task force completely gave way?

He temporarily avoided arrest because he was not at the apartment when the task force arrived and the second-floor rear deck suddenly collapsed beneath the officers. Authorities say U.S. Marshals and local officers were serving a high-risk warrant at Munoz’s residence in Huntsville, Missouri, as part of Operation Adam’s Watch. As officers gathered on or near the elevated deck to make the arrest, the structure gave way almost straight down “like a trap door,” according to local reporting, injuring seven officers and throwing the operation into chaos. That collapse disrupted the arrest at the scene. Reports indicate eight or nine officers were on or near the deck, and several were hospitalized with injuries including broken bones, torn muscles and concussions. Even so, officials said no firearms discharged during the fall, which they credited to the officers’ training. The key reason Munoz was not immediately captured is simpler than the collapse itself: he was not home at the time. Some reporting says another person was taken into custody at the apartment, while Munoz remained at large for several hours. He was arrested later the same day, with some accounts saying he later surrendered. Munoz, 26, had been wanted for allegedly failing to comply with release terms tied to his sex-offender registration. Missouri records list him as a Tier 1 sex offender, with a most recent offense involving child pornography. The cause of the deck failure remains under investigation.

3 articles · Updated · abcnews.com · Aug 19

Body-camera video shows nine task-force officers plunging when a second-story wooden deck collapsed outside an apartment in Huntsville, Missouri, on July 21 during an arrest attempt.
Seven officers were treated and released with injuries including broken bones, and none of the firearms several officers were holding discharged during the fall.
The team was serving a warrant for a 26-year-old man accused of failing to register as a sex offender; the Randolph County sheriff said local deputies, Moberly police and the North Missouri Drug Task Force joined the U.S. Marshals operation.
The suspect was taken into custody later that day, closing an arrest operation that turned into a serious safety incident for the marshals task force.