A Jefferson City man has been charged with allegedly making threats of violence against a school bus driver Tuesday morning.
Cody Vaughan, 33, is charged with felony counts of first-degree making a terroristic threat, first-degree harassment and a misdemeanor charge of peace disturbance.
A Jefferson City Police Department probable cause statement states the incident occurred in the area of Lafayette and East High streets. Vaughan reportedly was yelling at the driver and hitting the side of the bus.
The bus was later located at Lewis and Clark Middle School where the driver reported to police she was going back to pick up Vaughan's children after missing them earlier. When she did so, Vaughan was there, and the driver said he was verbally abusive toward her. The driver began to drive off, but Vaughan ran alongside the bus and allegedly banged the side of it.
The driver stopped again and another verbal confrontation between she and Vaughan occurred. It was during this confrontation that the driver claimed Vaughan said, "I will shoot up this bus." Vaughan also allegedly tried to get onto the bus, but the driver closed the door so he couldn't make entry.
The driver eventually drove away, with Vaughan's children still on the bus along with other students, and went over to Lewis and Clark, where she felt it was safer.
Police talked to the bus monitor who confirmed there was an altercation involving the driver and Vaughan. Police also reported four Lewis and Clark students provided written statements about the incident and all said Vaughan had made a threat to shoot the driver.
When questioned, Vaughan reportedly indicated he had been involved in a verbal altercation with the bus driver, but he claimed the driver tried to run him over and denied any wrongdoing.
Police later towed Vaughan's vehicle from the Lewis and Clark parking lot, and they allegedly found a loaded pistol in the car's trunk.
Investigators later went through the bus's video and audio surveillance equipment and reportedly found a portion of the audio recording where Vaughan is believed to be saying, "You getting/going to get shot."
This article was edited at 4:52 a.m. May 27, 2021, to correct the spelling of the defendant's last name.