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Stetson Jones, 31, of Springfield, is not sure how he feels about possibly being the first person in Springfield to be issued a ticket for violating the city's stay-at-home order.

He was far more concerned that he was ticketed in the first place. He says he does not know why and it was not explained to him.

His citation simply says "stay at home order." He has a June 25 date in municipal court and faces up to a $1,000 fine.

Jones says he was one of seven people on motorcycles who were given tickets by Springfield police at about 11:40 p.m. Tuesday at Battlefield Eagle Stop, a gas station at 820 E. Battlefield Road.

As far as I know, he was the only one to call the News-Leader.

He had gotten off work at about 11:30 p.m., he tells me. He works as a mechanic at an auto repair shop and during the pandemic, his boss lets him work whenever he wants. As a result, he's been working at night.

After work, he picked up a friend and went straight to get gas.

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Battlefield Eagle Stop is a popular place for motorcycle riders; it is one of the few locations that offers 93 octane gasoline, which many riders prefer.

But only the pumps were open at Battlefield Eagle Stop, so he rode across Battlefield to a Kum & Go, where he bought a protein bar and a water, he says.

He returned to the Eagle Stop to fill up his machine, a KTM Duke 390. Several others on motorcycles were there, as well.

Then, police arrived.

"Five or six police cars swarmed the gas station," Jones tells me. "One pulled up alongside me and one was behind me.

"I did not feel threatened," he says. "I was just really confused on what the issue was."

"The officer who wrote my ticket told me I was the first person in Springfield to be ticketed for violating the stay-at-home order," he says.

But before I give Jones exclusive claim to that, I should note that it's possible that other officers were writing similar tickets at the same time at the gas station or, perhaps, seconds prior.

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'I was not doing anything wrong'

In all, says police spokeswoman Jasmine Bailey, seven people were ticketed. All seven were issued a stay-at-home citation, and two of the seven also were cited for not having a motorcycle endorsement on their driver's license. An endorsement indicates that a person has the training to ride a motorcycle and has passed a test.

Jones tells me he doesn't yet know if he will hire a lawyer. He asks for my advice.

I tell him I don't have any.

"It's not the payment," he explains. "It's the fact that that I was not doing anything wrong."

He might be right. He certainly is allowed to buy gas during the pandemic. He is allowed to work as an auto mechanic, which is considered an "essential service." And there's no curfew.

With a passenger on his motorcycle, he certainly violated the guideline to try to stay 6 feet from others — but that's a separate issue from stay-at-home.

Also, how many of us ride in cars with others we know?

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Bailey painted a broader picture of the citations.

She says police on Tuesday night responded to reports that several people on motorcycles were driving erratically and perhaps were intoxicated.

(No one was cited for driving erratically or driving while intoxicated, but one rider fled from Battlefield Eagle Stop when police arrived. That rider was not pursued by police.)

In addition, Bailey says, there were reports that some of the motorcycle riders were loud and belligerent at the Kum & Go.

I ask Jones: Were you riding in a group with the other people who also were ticketed?

No.

Did you know any of them?

No.

Were you drinking or driving erratically?

No.

Were you belligerent at the Kum & Go?

No.

He tells me, "I'm getting lumped in with those other people because we all ride motorcycles. ... There are always people there because of the 93 octane gas.

"I think it's an unfair reason for me to get a ticket. I got a ticket because the motor vehicle I ride is a different shape than a car. I feel like they think we know everybody and we all hang out together because we happen to ride motorcycles.

"What I want to know is how do I keep this from happening again? What happens when I need to get gas again?"

I suggest maybe he buy 93 octane gas elsewhere.

"There's a place on Republic Road," he says. "But it's farther away."

These are the views of News-Leader columnist Steve Pokin, who has been at the paper eight years, and over his career has covered everything from courts and cops to features and fitness. He can be reached at 836-1253, spokin@gannett.com, on Twitter @stevepokinNL or by mail at 651 Boonville Ave., Springfield, MO 65806.