A 20-year-old man is being held without bond in a Missouri county jail. He was reportedly taken into police custody without incident following a shooting that had occurred earlier in the area. Responding officers say they received information about a possible shooting and arrived at the specified location to discover a man with several bullet wounds.
The injured man was found just east of Ridgeway. Later, police arrested the accused in Eagleville. They claim to have confiscated from the man’s vehicle a pistol magazine containing nine-millimeter ammunition, as well as other firearm components.
Criminal defense options for those facing firearms-related charges
Charges were filed for unlawful use of a weapon, as well as first-degree assault and an attempt to cause injury to a special victim. Missouri law defines a special victim as a law enforcement officer, emergency worker or individual who was vulnerable at the time of the incident. In this case, the man who was shot told police that he had been in a vehicle with the accused, and was then told to collect money that was blowing away, at which time, he claims, the person driving the truck shot him.
Facing criminal charges in a Missouri court does not necessarily mean the judge overseeing the case will hand down a conviction. There are often multiple defense strategies available to get a case dismissed or to avoid conviction if a prosecutor fails to provide sufficient evidence. To build as strong a defense as possible, it is best to meet with a criminal defense attorney at the first opportunity after having been detained by the authorities.