Witness: Murder suspect threatened him

A Cape Girardeau County judge found probable cause to try a man for murder after hearing testimony the defendant threatened to kill a key witness.

Following a preliminary hearing Friday at the Cape Girardeau County Courthouse in Jackson, Associate Circuit Judge Gary Kamp bound Bernard Richards over for arraignment and ordered the case to continue.

Richards, 19, of an unknown address, is charged with second-degree murder and armed criminal action in the Jan. 25 shooting death of Jacob Bowers, 17, whose body was found behind Du-Shell's Furniture, 2103 William St. in Cape Girardeau.

Bowers was attempting to rob David W. McKee Jr., 18, of Cape Girardeau, during a drug deal when Richards shot him in the back, police say.

Following the shooting, Richards and McKee fled to Illinois.

McKee testified Friday that Richards asked him to take responsibility for the shooting. If he did so, Richards said he would not have to deal drugs any more and "everything would be paid," McKee said.

In his testimony, the witness said Richards claimed that if McKee said the shooting was in self-defense, McKee would not spend more than a month in a jail.

If McKee did not take the fall for the shooting and told police what had actually happened, Richards threatened to kill him, McKee said.

"Wouldn't nothing come easy about it," McKee said Richards told him.

On the evening of Jan. 25, McKee said, he was walking to a girl's house when he got a phone call from John Lewis, a friend of Bowers whom McKee had sold drugs to in the past.

Lewis wanted to buy some crack cocaine from McKee, and the two arranged a meeting in a parking lot behind Rhodes 101 Stop, 2109 William St., McKee said.

As McKee was walking to the parking lot, Richards pulled up and warned the witness he was going to be robbed during the deal and offered to go with McKee to the sale.

In the parking lot, Bowers and Lewis walked up to McKee as Richards stood about 20 to 30 feet away, according to the witness. During the drug deal, McKee testified, he looked over Bowers' shoulder and saw Richards kneeling down by a Dumpster west of Du-Shell's. Richards' arms were extended, pointed toward the three as if he were aiming a weapon, McKee said.

McKee said that when he gave over the drugs, about 3 grams, neither Bowers nor Lewis handed him any money.

"I was like, where's the money at?" McKee said. "Then Jake said, 'Don't worry about my money. I need your F-ing money.'"

Jake was Jacob Bowers, who pulled out a small gun and held it against McKee's forehead, the witness testified. "I didn't honestly think they would go to that far extent for the little bit I had," McKee said on the stand.

McKee said he told Bowers that the two already had the drugs, and it was not worth shooting him for his money.

Lewis then grabbed McKee's arm and Bowers lowered the gun to his chest, the witness testified.

"He said, 'You know what? Kiss your F-ing life good-bye," McKee said of Bowers.

McKee said he grabbed Bowers' gun and the two began struggling with the weapon as Lewis struck him in the back of the head with a hard object.

Richards then shouted, "Duck," and one shot was fired, McKee said.

"I thought I was dead for sure," the witness said, believing that the gunshot had come from Bowers' gun.

Citing previous testimony from a preliminary hearing Feb. 22, Cape Girardeau Prosecuting Attorney Morley Swingle said outside of court that the two-shot derringer pistol Bowers had was loaded with two live rounds that had not fired. Both bullets were dented from the gun's hammer, indicating a possible misfire.

After the shot was fired, McKee said, he pushed himself away from Bowers, began running south and heard more shots.

He testified he saw Bowers run east along Du-Shell's loading dock, and Lewis cut east through property south of that.

Police officers investigating a report of shots fired found Bowers' body around 8 p.m. near a Dumpster behind Du-Shell's. Bowers was shot in the back, and the bullet pierced his heart, Swingle said.

After running from the shooting, McKee said, he called Richards, who said he was at the home of a girl he knew behind Du-Shell's. From a window of the home, Richards told McKee that he could see police and a body covered by a sheet, the witness said.

Later that evening, McKee said, Richards picked him up and the two drove to Illinois.

When asked by Swingle in court, McKee said that by his agreeing to tell the truth prosecutors would only charge him with possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute. No charges related to the the drug deal had been filed against McKee as of Friday.

McKee originally was scheduled to testify on Feb. 22 but did not appear because he said he thought the preliminary hearing was on a different day. He was arrested for failure to appear for a subpoena. He appeared in court Friday in an orange jail uniform with his hands and ankles shackled.

Outside of court, Swingle said the charge against McKee for failing to appear would be dropped.

A Cape Girardeau County Sheriff's Department deputy used a metal detector wand to screen everyone attending the hearing. Richards, who wore an orange jail uniform, did not speak during the proceedings. He was scheduled for arraignment before Circuit Judge William Syler Monday.

kmorrison@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 127