Man accused in Neelys Landing shooting makes court appearance

A man accused of assisting in a Cape Girardeau shooting in August was illegally detained and anything he said during that detainment should not be admissible in court, his attorney argued Thursday.

Seth Summers, 31, is charged with first-degree assault and armed criminal in connection with an Aug. 28 shooting that destroyed the victim's left eye and lodged a bullet in his sinuses. Jimmy Ray Bell, 28, faces the same charges. Both men pleaded not guilty.

The victim told police the three of them had parked on a county road near Neelys Landing and were drinking when Bell pulled out a handgun. The victim said he was then sprayed in the face with pepper spray and shot by Bell.

Scott Schnurbusch and Aaron Harris, the two Cape Girardeau sheriff's deputies who stopped Bell and Summers on County Road 177 after receiving a 911 call about the assault, testified during a hearing Thursday that when they pulled over the two, Summers appeared nervous and would not look at the officers while speaking. Both men supplied driver's licenses to the deputies, and after running their identification through a squad car computer, Schnurbusch found that Bell was wanted on a Dent County, Mo., warrant for passing bad checks.

As he was being arrested, Bell was asked if he had any weapons in the car, and he told Schnurbusch that he there was a gun in the vehicle. Upon searching the vehicle, which belonged to Summers, the deputies found a gun, bleach and latex gloves. Bell was arrested on the warrant, and Summers was handcuffed and "temporarily detained," Harris testified.

Harris said he handcuffed Summers for safety.

While detained, Summers was not read his Miranda rights but was asked by Harris if he could be searched, Harris testified. Upon searching Summers, Harris said he found a can of pepper spray in his pocket. Harris also asked Summers what he called routine traffic stop questions, and Summers told him that he and Bell were drinking with one of Bell's friends in a wooded area shortly before being stopped.

When asked where Bell's friend went after drinking with the two, Summers could not supply a direct answer, Harris testified.

The officer who responded to the victim later contacted Schnurbusch and Harris to tell them to take Summers and Bell into custody because the victim had identified them, Harris testified. It was then that Summers was arrested.

Summers' attorney, Albert Lowes, told Cape Girardeau Circuit Court Judge William Syler that any conversation between Summers and Harris that occurred during the detainment should be suppressed and not admissible as evidence because he had not been arrested and read his Miranda rights.

"The deputy was being too damn clever," Lowes said of the detainment after the hearing. "If you're handcuffed, you should be under arrest."

Syler said he was unsure what exactly Lowes wanted suppressed and encouraged him to file a brief before Jan. 17, when Summers is scheduled to be back in court.

Bell will stand trial Feb. 22.

psullivan@semissourian.com

388-3635

Pertinent address:

Neelys Landing, MO