Matthew McCulloch, a former St. Louis County police officer and son of the county's former top prosecutor, has entered a guilty plea to eight felony charges stemming from an incident at a 2023 Halloween event. As reported by FOX 2, McCulloch admitted to firing shots into the air and making terroristic threats at a trunk-or-treat event for Tillman Elementary students, where no one was physically harmed due to his actions.
During the event on Oct. 15, 2023, following a confrontation with attendees, McCulloch displayed a handgun and a badge, threatening those present by stating "you are all going to die" before discharging his weapon multiple times into the sky. As revealed by court documents and reported by KSDK, his apprehension was made possible only after several witnesses managed to tackle and disarm him.
In exchange for his guilty plea, prosecutors dismissed seven counts of armed criminal action against McCulloch. According to St. Louis Today, Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Jessica Hathaway emphasized the importance of the guilty plea in preventing re-traumatization of the children who witnessed the event, stating, "Sometimes a resolution where the defendant is pleading guilty and accepting responsibility keeps the child victim from having to testify."
The plea, termed a blind plea, was negotiated by the St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney's Office's Conviction and Incident Review Unit with the sentencing decision left to the court. Despite being diagnosed with bipolar disorder, which McCulloch told Judge Ellen Ribaudo includes long periods of depression and now being medicated, he faces the possibility of several years in prison. The prosecutors have recommended a three-year sentence. Chris King, a spokesperson for the St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, told FOX 2, "We hope that the defendant taking responsibility for his actions brings some closure to the many people impacted by his actions."
Sentencing for Matthew McCulloch is scheduled for March 14. Echoing the gravity of the situation, authorities and the prosecuting attorney's office have acknowledged the severity of the event which unfolded in the presence of hundreds, and have expressed gratitude towards the witnesses whose cooperation was integral to the prosecution of the case.
