County prosecutors drop charges in assault case

Cole County prosecutors have dropped charges against a Jefferson City man in an assault case from June 2019.

Raeqwon Morris, 19, had been charged with first-degree assault, first-degree property damage, armed criminal action and attempt to deliver a controlled substance.

Cole County Prosecutor Locke Thompson said he could not say why the charges were dismissed.

Another Jefferson City man was sentenced to 120 days of shock incarceration in prison in connection with this case.

Keiron Robinson, 18, pleaded guilty during an April hearing before Cole County Presiding Judge Pat Joyce to first-degree assault. As part of a plea agreement with the Cole County Prosecutor's Office, charges of armed criminal action, first-degree property damage, delivery of marijuana and aiding a person discharging a firearm from a vehicle were dismissed.

According to court records, Robinson is scheduled to be released from shock detention early next month and will be placed on five years of supervised probation. If he violates his probation, he faces a 10-year prison sentence.

On June 19, 2019, an officer attempted to contact the occupants of a black Ford Mustang in the 1000 block of Boonville Road for a driving violation, according to a Jefferson City Police Department probable cause statement. Prior to the officer activating his emergency equipment, the vehicle abruptly pulled to the curb, and both subjects fled on foot.

A perimeter was established at the intersection of Boonville Road and Belair Drive as officers searched for the two men.

Authorities said the two men had committed a weapons offense and assault in the 200 block of Belair Drive just before the officer tried to contact them for the driving violation on Boonville Road. Investigators said the men were in the area of Belair Drive attempting to purchase narcotics; a disturbance occurred that resulted in two vehicles chasing each other.

While the vehicles were traveling down Belair Drive, the men in the Mustang reportedly fired at the other car.

An uninvolved resident's vehicle in the area was struck during the course of the chase. Although the victim's vehicle was damaged, he was not injured.