Russellville mayor arrested for DWI, closed-door meeting held
Read more: Local, Crime, Politics, Russellville, Phil Hagenhoff, Fact Finder
RUSSELLVILLE, MO. -- Update, Feb. 10:
Mayor Phil Hagenhoff has been charged with driving while intoxicated.
Court documents show he was at twice the legal limit when police pulled him over at the scene of a barn fire.
The issue will likely come up at the next council meeting on Feb. 16.
Original Story:
The mayor of Russellville was arrested for driving drunk and disobeying a police officer, KRCG News has learned.
Mayor Phil Hagenhoff was pulled over Wednesday night for driving drunk and failing to obey an officer, according to Cole County deputies.
Officers were directing traffic at the scene of a barn fire on Route C just outside the city when they stopped Hagenhoff for not following commands.
He was cited and later arrested for driving under the influence.
Hagenhoff was taken to jail around 11:30 p.m. He posted a $5,000 bond and was released at 2:12 a.m.
On Thursday, city council officials discussed the incident at a previously scheduled closed-door meeting around 5:30 p.m. A council member contacted by KRCG refused to comment on the meeting.
At a nearby bar on the same street, several residents say they saw the mayor, police and other city officials attend the private meeting which was over by 7 p.m. Several Russellville residents said Hagenhoff was also a volunteer firefighter.
Russellville's Fire Chief Melvin Stubinger said Hagenhoff hadn't been a volunteer firefighter for at least 10 years. It is still unclear why Hagenhoff was in the area of Wednesday night's fire that destroyed three tractors, according to Stubinger.
Hagenhoff did not respond to numerous calls for comments, so the KRCG Fact Finder team went to his house in Russellville.
"I have no comment thank you," said his wife Diane Hagenhoff.
"We just have a few questions for the mayor," a KRCG News reporter asked. "Can he come to the door?"
"No thank you," said Hagenhoff, before closing the door.
Cole County Prosecutor Mark Richardson has not filed charges against the mayor as of Thursday night.
He said his office is reviewing notes from the sheriff's office and will decide within the next couple of days whether or not to charge Hagenhoff with a crime.
"When he took on mayor I figured he knew what had to be done," said Stubinger. "He knew what a requirement for mayor is and what's expected out of a mayor."
