Jefferson City man accused of shooting at car, selling fake meth
Cole County prosecutors have accused a Jefferson City man of shooting a vehicle several times while bystanders were nearby and attempting to sell fake methamphetamine in separate criminal cases.
Arthur Phillips Jr. allegedly committed the crimes in late July and early September. Arrest warrants were issued in each case Friday, according to online court records.
On July 31, Jefferson City Police Department narcotics detectives were training at the Baymont Inn in Jefferson City when they encountered Phillips. According to court documents, a Missouri State Highway Patrol sergeant spoke with Phillips, who gave them permission to search him.
The sergeant found three bags of a substance that appeared to be meth, and a meth pipe, according to a probable cause statement. Phillips said the substance was not meth, but he was going to sell it as such to the occupants of another room at the inn, police say.
Phillips was charged with attempted delivery of an imitation controlled substance and having drug paraphernalia, both misdemeanors. It’s not clear whether he was arrested at the time.
The alleged shooting incident occurred Tuesday in the 200 block of West Atchison Street in Jefferson City, according to the second probable cause statement.
Officers responded to reports of gunshots at an apartment building around 6:30 p.m. Once on scene, officers found three bullet casings in a nearby driveway.
Phillips spoke with an officer immediately after they arrived, according to the statement, and said he was visiting a friend, but could not provide the friend’s name or apartment number. Phillips was able to leave the scene because of “a lack of information and very few cooperating witnesses,” according to the probable cause statement.
After he left, the building’s landlord showed officers surveillance video that allegedly showed Phillips holding a handgun and shooting a car as he ran away, police say. Video also showed Phillips ditching a gun in a laundry room and a black drawstring backpack with an airsoft rifle inside in an abandoned washing machine on a separate floor of the apartment complex, according to the statement.
Police say one of the bullets Phillips fired went through a neighbor’s window and an adult and six children were inside.
It was not clear Friday whether Phillips was in custody. His bond was set at $50,000 cash-only.
