Judge finds probable cause in witness-tampering case

Circuit Court Judge Gary Kamp on Friday found probable cause a Cape Girardeau man tampered with a witness.

Arraignment for 29-year-old Brandon Lamont King is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. Monday.

Marsha Gail Price-Terry testified at King's preliminary hearing Friday, saying just after 8 a.m. Sept 17, she was getting out of her vehicle in the parking area near 419 Mill St. to baby sit children in the home when King pulled behind her in a blue pickup truck, honked the horn and asked to talk to her.

"I saw a gun on his lap, and I told him I didn't want any trouble," she said. "He told me to give someone a message: 'Tell Jennifer to tell Brittany to take $3,500 to stop Brittany from coming to court.' I told him I would give them the message."

Price-Terry relayed that King told her the gun was for his protection. When asked to describe the weapon, Price-Terry said, "The gun was black with a trigger and with a hole at the end where the bullet comes out."

Jennifer King, whom Price-Terry identified as Brandon King's wife, hadn't arrived at 419 Mill St. with her children. Price-Terry said she knew Jennifer King and 24-year-old Brittany Janeise Smith are friends.

Smith gave a statement to Cape Girardeau police that April 4, Brandon King shot at her at least four times before she drove away from her apartment at 2819 Whitener St., according to a probable-cause statement by officer Dustin Humphrey. A bullet was found in the trunk of Smith's vehicle.

Brandon King was charged with a felony charge of unlawful use of a weapon, and a hearing in that case also is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. Monday. Cape Girardeau assistant prosector Julia Koester said the cases of tampering with a witness and the weapons violation will be kept separate.

Price-Terry told assistant public defender Jennifer Slone she was afraid of Brandon King.

"I didn't know he was out of jail; I freaked out," Price-Terry said. "The things he's done, I've seen -- I don't like."

Slone asked Price-Terry whether she liked Brandon King.

"I didn't say I didn't like him," she said. "I don't like what he's done."

Slone asked why Price-Terry thought Brandon King should still be in jail.

"I think that's where he was supposed to be when he committed a crime," she said.

Bond in the tampering case was set at $50,000 cash only. Brandon King also faces a charge of resisting arrest April 2. A hearing is set for 4:30 p.m. Monday for the resisting-arrest charge.

Cape Girardeau officer Ryan Doege said Brandon King was a suspect in a domestic assault in March, according to Cape Girardeau Police public information officer Adam Glueck, and officers found him April 2 at 45 S. West End Blvd. Brandon King ran from officers and dropped a digital scale off a balcony before he was arrested, according to Doege's statement.

bkleine@semisourian.com

(573) 388-3644

Pertinent address:

419 Mill St., Cape Girardeau, Mo.

2819 Whitener St., Cape Girardeau, Mo.

45 S. West End Blvd., Cape Girardeau, Mo.