A Jefferson City man has been placed on two years of unsupervised probation for a misdemeanor charge of unlawful use of a weapon for firing a handgun into the air to try to break up a fight at the funeral of a friend who was the victim of a homicide in Jefferson City.
Pierre Starks, 24, pleaded guilty during a hearing before Cole County Associate Circuit Judge Brian Stumpe.
Prosecutors dismissed a felony charge of receiving stolen property filed against Starks.
Starks must complete 50 hours of community service in 90 days as part of his probation.
Jefferson City Police Department officers responded Dec. 6, 2019, to the 800 block of Jefferson Street in reference to a disturbance at a funeral, according to charging documents. While en route, officers learned two shots had been fired.
The funeral that afternoon at One in Christ Baptist Church, 900 Jefferson St., was for Earle Key Jr., 17, of Jefferson City, who was shot in the 1300 block of West McCarty Street on Thanksgiving Day 2019.
Key was one of two people killed that night - the other was Shantae Hill-Cook, 33, of Columbia.
Torry Upchurch, of Jefferson City, received multiple charges, including two counts of first-degree murder, in connection with the deaths. Upchurch was indicted by a Cole County grand jury, and his case is scheduled to be in Cole County Circuit Judge Cotton Walker's court next month.
Officers at the scene determined a fight had occurred outside of the church at the intersection of West Atchison and Jefferson streets, and there were no injuries from the gunshots.
Police found a .40-caliber shell casing on West Atchison Street and developed a description and travel direction of a possible suspect.
"Though there were over 50 people in attendance, there were not many people willing to speak with officers as this was 'a family matter,'" according to the report.
About 20 minutes after the reports of gunshots, an officer located and detained someone matching the suspect's description, Starks' brother, in the 700 block of Jackson Street. Starks then "exited a residence with a bag, which had two 9mm handguns inside," according to charging documents.
An officer interviewed Starks on Jackson Street, where police said Starks "admitted he fired the shots at the funeral and not his brother, who initially was believed to have fired the shots."
Police said Starks initially said he had used one of the 9mm handguns he had turned over to officers, but "when further questioned, (Starks) admitted he had used a .40-caliber handgun to fire the rounds."
A Glock 23 .40-caliber handgun was turned over to police by Starks' mother from a residence in the 700 block of Jackson Street. The serial number on the Glock matched as a gun reported stolen July 6, 2019, in Jefferson City.
While being interviewed at the police station, Starks said he had purchased the gun for $300 from an unknown individual in Jefferson City sometime in November 2019, according to police.