Cape Girardeau man arrested for alleged assault

Cape Girardeau police have apprehended a man alleged to have assaulted a victim who remains in critical condition three days following the attack.

Jacob Jungers, 32, of Cape Girardeau was taken into custody in the early morning hours of Tuesday, July 4, following an assault that occurred Saturday, July 1, in the 300 block of South Sprigg Street.

According to the news release issued by the department, police officers arrived at the scene of the attack at 9 a.m. Saturday, at which time the suspect had fled the area.

When the responding officer arrived, Cape Girardeau Fire Department personnel were treating the victim, who, according to a probable-cause affidavit filed in the case, was bleeding around the nose and face and was shaking while unconscious. The victim required emergency brain surgery, according to the probable-cause statement.

Officers talked to witnesses who, according to the probable-cause statement, described Jungers as having punched the victim in the face. The victim was knocked unconscious and then hit his head on the pavement when he fell, according to the probable-cause statement. Surveillance cameras showed Jungers getting into a vehicle as a passenger and going south on South Sprigg Street.

Investigators entered the license plate number associated with the car into a national automated license plate recognition technology database. In the meantime, the Cape Girardeau County Prosecutor's Office formally charged Jungers with a Class A felony of assault in the first degree, and issued a warrant for his arrest, according to a news release issued by the department.

At 2 a.m. Tuesday, the license plate system alerted the presence of the vehicle Jungers was known to ride in. An officer responded to the alert, pulled over the vehicle and found Jungers lying down in the back seat, apparently trying to conceal himself from officers. Jungers was taken into custody.

According to the news release, a $50,000 cash-only bond was issued in connection with the arrest.