A man who displaying a sword or machete in a Raytown gas station parking lot has been charged with multiple felonies, including assault, endangerment of a child and fleeing, Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker announced today.
Phillip D. Perkins, dob: 7/26/1971, faces two counts of Assault in the 2nd Degree, four counts of Endangering the Welfare of a Child in the 1st Degree, Resisting Arrest and Property Damage in the 1st Degree.*
According to court records, Perkins was observed with a U-Haul box truck in a parking lot of a gas station in Raytown, displaying swords. Witnesses said he used a sword, threatening two men in the parking lot. Eventually, officers pursued the truck from 4:20 a.m. to 5:07 a.m. when Perkins wrecked at the First Baptist Church in Raytown. He was still armed with knives and swords. Four children and their mother were found in the back of the van. When the van wrecked into the church, it did an estimated $25,000 in damage.
Prosecutors have requested a bond of $100,000.
*Charges are only accusations and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until the defendant is either found guilty or has pleaded.