Shooting victim won't press charges

SIKESTON, Mo. -- The victim of a shooting at a Sikeston bar early Sunday will not press charges against a suspect arrested later in the day, police say.

Responding to a call at 3 a.m. Sunday, Sikeston police found Fonta T. McKeller, 26, lying on the floor with a single gunshot wound to the back at the Jazz-Z and Blues-Z club, police said.

He had emergency surgery at Missouri Delta Medical Center in Sikeston, said Capt. Mark Crocker.

By 8 a.m. Sunday, officers arrested a 25-year-old Charleston, Mo., man in Charleston, said Crocker. But police said McKeller refused to press charges.

The bullet, believed to be fired from a small handgun, was not removed from McKeller's back, Crocker said, and no weapon had been recovered by Monday.

Witnesses reported they heard a single gunshot. Lack of cooperation from witnesses and families has slowed the investigation, Crocker said.

McKeller allegedly is involved in a gang called the Gangster Disciples, said Charleston police chief Paul Johnson.

The shooting was investigated by the Southeast Missouri Major Case Squad, made up of members from the Missouri State Highway Patrol, Sikeston Department of Public Safety, New Madrid County Sheriff's Office and the Scott County Sheriff's Department.