Murder charges filed against Charleston man

Standard Democrat

CHARLESTON, Mo. -- First-degree murder charges were filed in connection with a New Year's Eve shooting death Thursday.

Mississippi County Prosecutor Jennifer Raffety has filed charges of first-degree murder and armed criminal action against Jermaine Anderson, 19, of Charleston in connection with the death of Fernando Curtis.

Charleston Department of Public Safety officials said Curtis was near the intersection of Vine and Elm streets at 2:30 p.m. Tuesday when he was shot by a handgun in his upper right thigh. The bullet passed through his femoral artery in his upper thigh, causing Curtis to bleed to death. He was pronounced dead at Missouri Delta Medical Center in Sikeston, Mo.

Anderson was taken into custody without incident on Johnson Street. He is being held in the Mississippi County Detention Center without bond.

Jan. 8, Anderson is expected to appear in Division II of Mississippi County Court. A preliminary hearing date will be set at that time.

Officials said the investigation is continuing into the shooting. They are being assisted by the Mississippi County Sheriff's Department and the Sikeston Department of Public Safety. Anyone with information regarding the incident is urged to contact the Charleston Department of Public Safety.

If convicted, Anderson faces the possibility of life in prison without possibility of parole or the death penalty for the first-degree murder charges. The armed criminal action charges would carry a penalty of three years to life in prison.