Sikeston man charged in shooting death of Cape man

A Sikeston, Missouri, man has been charged in connection with a shooting that left one man dead and one woman wounded last week in Cape Girardeau.

The Cape Girardeau County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office on Friday charged Tiwan T. Paige, 29, with first-degree murder, two counts of armed criminal action, first-degree assault and unlawful possession of a firearm.

Paige shot Jeremy Guyton and Guyton’s girlfriend, who was not identified by police, killing Guyton and wounding the female victim in the back and head shortly after 2 a.m. April 14, according to a probable-cause statement filed in the case by police detective Joe Thomas.

The victim told police Paige and Guyton had argued at her Cape Girardeau apartment after Paige asked Guyton to drive him to Sikeston, Thomas wrote.

The victim said Paige had a gun belonging to Guyton and refused to return it, Thomas wrote.

“Guyton did not want Paige seated behind him in the car while in possession of that gun,” Thomas wrote. “Ultimately, Paige refused to return the gun to Guyton and [the female victim], Guyton and Paige all entered the car for the drive to Sikeston.”

Guyton drove while his girlfriend sat in the passenger seat with Paige behind her in the back seat, according to the statement.

The victim told police Paige began shooting near the intersection of Bloomfield Road and Spring Avenue and ordered her to get out of the car, which she did upon realizing she had been struck in the head with a bullet, Thomas wrote.

Once outside, she saw Paige pull Guyton’s body from the car, Thomas wrote.

The victim flagged down an officer and was taken to a hospital with two graze wounds, one of which caused brain bleeding, according to the statement.

Paige later was taken into custody, having fled in Guyton’s car after the shooting, according to the statement.

He has been in custody since, held initially on charges from another county before being charged with killing Guyton, Cape Girardeau County Prosecuting Attorney Chris Limbaugh said Friday.

Paige admitted to shooting Guyton and the female victim, but claimed it had been in self-defense, according to the statement.

The information in the statement does not elaborate on the circumstances surrounding Paige’s self-defense claim. Evidence technicians did not, however, find evidence of more than one shooter or shots fired toward the back seat of the vehicle, according to the statement.

“Instead, the spent bullet locations were consistent with [the victim’s] injuries and her account of the events,” Thomas wrote.

Paige also admitted to going through Guyton’s pockets and taking Guyton’s cellphone before driving away, Thomas wrote.

Guyton was shot three times in the back and once in the side, and police found the murder weapon in the car taken by Paige, according to the statement.

Paige’s bond was set at $250,000 cash. He remains in custody.

tgraef@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3627

Pertinent address:

Bloomfield Road and Spring Avenue, Cape Girardeau, Mo.