WAYNE COUNTY OFFICIAL CHARGED

JACKSON -- A Wayne County commissioner accused of assaulting a couple with a handgun for tearing down his election signs will be prosecuted by Cape Girardeau County Prosecuting Attorney Morley Swingle.

Bruce W. Keel, 46, will be arraigned in Madison County before Circuit Judge Robert Stillwell on July 20, Swingle said.

Swingle was appointed special prosecutor by Cape Girardeau County Circuit Judge William Syler, who was appointed by the Missouri Supreme Court to select a prosecutor and issue any necessary warrants.

Keel has been charged with second-degree assault and two counts of unlawful use of a weapon, Swingle said.

A report from a Missouri Highway Patrol investigator states that Wayne County sheriff's deputies responded to a reported assault just before midnight on June 29 at a parking lot in Mill Spring, Mo.

The victim, Dustin Graham, told deputies that he and his girlfriend, Jackie Howell, were in the parking lot when a man in a red van pulled up and said he had something for them.

As Graham walked toward the van, the man got out holding a dark handgun with a laser sight. Graham said he was able to identify the man as Keel, the report states.

The man pointed the gun at Graham and asked if he had been tearing down his election signs.

Howell then attempted to hide behind a vehicle, but the man pointed the handgun at her and ordered her to come to him.

After placing his arm around her, the man then asked Howell if she knew who he was. He responded, "I'm Bruce Keel," the Highway Patrol's probable-cause affidavit states.

Graham then attempted to run away and said he was threatened by the man to come back. Fearing that he would be shot, Graham said he returned, pleading with the man not to shoot him.

As Graham walked back, the report states that the man hit Graham in the head with the gun. The man then threw Graham into the side of Howell's vehicle, and then forced him onto the hood of the red van, says the report.

The man then grabbed Graham by the throat and tried to force him to take the gun barrel into his mouth. He told Graham to swallow it, the affidavit states.

When the man asked Graham what his name was, Graham said he answered. The man then told Howell to take Graham away and then drove off in the red van.

Several other persons who witnessed the incident have given written accounts to investigators, the affidavit says.

Keel is presently out of jail on a $50,000 bond.