A 21-year-old Dittmer man has been charged with first-degree murder after a shooting outside a business in High Ridge, Missouri, on Thursday evening left one man dead and a second man wounded, the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office announced on Friday, November 6. Sheriff Dave Marshak said Robert M. Kalbach Jr. faces one count each of first-degree murder, first-degree assault and unlawful use of a weapon, along with three counts of armed criminal action.
Authorities identified the man who died as Joseph Schertler, 26, of Cedar Hill. The second shooting victim has not been publicly identified in the sheriff's release, and his latest medical condition was not provided. Kalbach was arrested without incident and is being held at the Jefferson County Jail without bond. The sheriff's office credited Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney Trisha Stefanski and her staff for quickly obtaining an in-custody warrant.
What investigators say happened
Deputies responded at around 8:30 p.m. on Thursday, November 5, to a business in the 2800 block of High Ridge Boulevard. They found two men suffering from apparent gunshot wounds, began lifesaving measures and arranged for emergency medical crews to transport both men to area hospitals. Schertler later died of his injuries.
According to the sheriff's office, investigators believe Kalbach drove to the business and encountered a group that included Schertler, the other shooting victim and additional people. Witnesses described an altercation between Kalbach and members of that group.
Witnesses told investigators that members of the group threw eggs at Kalbach's vehicle. Authorities allege that Kalbach then pulled a firearm while still inside the vehicle and fired several shots, striking Schertler and the second victim, before driving away. The egg-throwing account is an allegation attributed to witnesses in the investigation; authorities have not established a motive in the documents released so far.
The probable cause statement
A probable cause statement dated November 6, prepared by Jefferson County Sheriff's Office Detective R. Huber (report No. 2026-42031), says deputies found the two injured men in the parking lot of a business on High Ridge Boulevard at approximately 8:27 p.m. Both were transported to hospitals with serious injuries, and one was later pronounced dead. The detective wrote that Kalbach returned to his residence, where he was taken into custody. Investigators reported recovering evidence from the scene and from Kalbach's vehicle consistent with a shooting; the public statement does not specify the nature of that evidence.
The six charges against Robert M. Kalbach Jr. are allegations filed on the sheriff's office and prosecutor's account of the investigation. He is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.
What is not yet known
The sheriff's office has not publicly identified the second man who was shot, and it has not provided his medical condition. No motive has been established in the released documents, and the public probable cause summary does not specify what evidence was recovered from the scene or from Kalbach's vehicle. The investigation remains ongoing, the sheriff's office said.
What happens next
Kalbach remains in the Jefferson County Jail without bond, and his case now moves through the Jefferson County courts under Prosecuting Attorney Trisha Stefanski's office, which obtained the in-custody warrant. First-degree murder is the most serious homicide charge in Missouri. For the High Ridge community — a Jefferson County township southwest of St. Louis, along the High Ridge Boulevard corridor where the shooting happened — the next confirmed facts are expected to come from court filings and any further sheriff's office updates as the investigation continues.