MISSOURI STATE HIGHWAY PATROL
A Division Of The
Department of Public Safety
Public Information and Education Division - PO Box 568 - Jefferson City, MO 65102
NEWS RELEASE

For further information please contact: Capt. John J. Hotz
Q1142016-2 (573) 526-6115

November 4, 2016
EMPHASIS: Patrol Aircraft Utilizes Augmented Reality System To Capture Suspects

Colonel J. Bret Johnson, superintendent of the Missouri State Highway Patrol, commends the Patrol’s Aircraft Division for its critical work following the November 2, 2016 robbery of the Martinsburg Bank & Trust in Martinsburg, MO. Using their Patrol helicopter’s high definition camera and Augmented Reality System (ARS), two pilots located and tracked three bank robbery suspects as they fled in a vehicle. The pilots relayed location and direction of travel information to officers on the ground, leading to the arrest of two suspects. When the third suspect escaped on foot, the pilots tracked him as he fled into an unoccupied house.

A sample video clip to show how ARS works is available with this news release on the Patrol's website.

ARS is an advanced mission management and mapping system designed to augment full motion video in real time with geospatial information. The system uses addresses, roadways, businesses, etc., and overlays them on the video images from the forward looking infrared camera (FLIR). This system also makes it easier to operate the camera, because instead of looking away from the camera to look at a map, all the information appears on the screen. The ARS was purchased through a grant from the Missouri Department of Transportation's Traffic and Highway Safety Division.

"Multiple agencies worked together to bring this situation to a successful conclusion," said Col. Johnson. "I'm pleased that two of the suspects were initially taken into custody without further incident, and that the Patrol's Augmented Reality System was instrumental in tracking and capturing them and locating the third suspect."

Two suspects, Cecil W. Golden, 23, and David Franklin, 22, have been charged with first degree assault of a law enforcement officer, armed criminal action, first degree tampering with a motor vehicle, and resisting arrest in Montgomery County. They remain in the Montgomery County Jail without bond. The charges for which Golden and Franklin were arrested are mere accusation and are not evidence of guilt. Evidence in support of the charges must be presented before a court of competent jurisdiction whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence. The third suspect, Wade T. Sargent, 23, was found inside of a Montgomery City residence, deceased from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. The last known address for all three men was the Missouri Department of Corrections Community Supervision Center in Fulton, Callaway County, MO.

Agencies involved in the pursuit and apprehension of the bank robbers include the Missouri State Highway Patrol, Audrain County Sheriff's Department, Montgomery County Sheriff's Department, Callaway County Sheriff's Office, the Wellsville Police Department, the Montgomery City Police, the Jonesburg Police Department, the Martinsburg Police Department, the High Hill Police Department, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

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Highway Safety Press Conference ARS.ts