Jefferson City man accused of robbing man at gunpoint
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)
A Jefferson City man was charged on Friday after he was accused of robbing another man at gunpoint on Thursday.
Brandon Higgins, 19, was charged with first-degree robbery, unlawful use of a weapon and two counts of armed criminal action. He was arrested by Jefferson City police at 6:05 p.m. Thursday. No bond was a set. A court date has not been set.
According to the probable cause statement filed on Friday, police responded on Thursday to a report of a robbery in the 800 block of Ohio Street and an alleged victim stated he was robbed at gunpoint and a bag was stolen.
The alleged victim and a witness were allegedly pursuing a vehicle -- that Higgins was accused taking off in – while on the phone with police. The victim allegedly told law enforcement that he was selling a backpack and that two men in ski masks robbed him at gunpoint, court documents say.
The victim allegedly told law enforcement that he had been talking with one of the men over the social media application Snapchat and knew his username, according to the probable cause statement. The statement says Snapchat’s law-enforcement portal was used and police obtained Higgins’ name. Police also showed the photo to Jefferson City School Resource Officers, who identified Higgins, the statement says.
The statement says a photo lineup was created and a witness was able to identify Higgins, but the victim could not. Police then learned Higgins was allegedly a passenger during a traffic stop on Dec. 25, and used Flock cameras that showed the vehicle from that stop had entered Riverside Park about an hour after the robbery was reported, the statement claims.
Officers then conducted a traffic stop on the vehicle and saw a ski mask in the passenger seat, where Higgins was seated, according to the probable cause statement. The woman driving the vehicle was described as a witness in the statement.
She allegedly told police that Higgins asked her for a ride to purchase marijuana from the victim. The statement says she then saw Higgins and another man rob the victim and she drove away while getting chased by the victim. She claimed she did not know a robbery would take place, the statement says.
The woman consented to a vehicle search, where police found a bag containing weed, the statement says. Police also found a ski mask, which the woman claimed Higgins wore during the robbery, the statement says. Police also looked at the woman’s phone and allegedly found videos of Higgins wearing the mask and posing with the bag and weed.
Higgins allegedly admitted to taking the bag but denied using a gun, the statement says. He did not reveal the name of the other man, court documents say.
The alleged victim was then contacted by police and denied having weed in the bag, the statement says.
Higgins was also charged in another case on Dec. 21 with second-degree tampering with a motor vehicle, a misdemeanor. A criminal summons was issued in that case on Dec. 22 and an initial court appearance is set for 9 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 30 at the Cole County Circuit Court.
