Jefferson City man whose run from crash led to search is charged criminally
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)
A Jefferson City man who ran from a crash last week, prompting a multi-day search amid concerns about his safety, has been charged with a felony.
Nathan J. Spencer, 20, was found safe Friday in a wooded area near Capitol View Drive, Jefferson City Police said. He had been missing since that Tuesday after he was involved in a crash on Highway 50/63 westbound. Police began the search because they were concerned that Spencer, who is autistic, might have had a mental health crisis before he ran from the crash scene.
Prosecutors in Cole County charged Spencer on Tuesday with felony leaving the scene of a crash and two misdemeanors -- reckless driving and driving without a license.
A probable cause statement alleges Spencer was speeding and swerving between lanes when he rear-ended another vehicle. The statement says Spencer remains at a hospital, where he has been since he was found on Friday.
No hearing has been set.
Cole County Prosecutor Locke Thompson said cases involving individuals with autism or other mental health conditions are handled on a case-by-case basis, with a focus on whether the person understood their actions at the time.
“It's always a case-by-case sort of analysis, and I think especially when you're talking about something like autism, where there's such a broad spectrum, that can kind of play into it as well,” Thompson said. “But any time you're talking about a defendant who has or a suspect who has some sort of mental health diagnosis or special needs that are prevalent, you have to analyze whether at the time the crime was committed, they were able to understand and appreciate the nature and the circumstances of the crime.
"If they if they can, then they can still have the required mental state to have committed a crime. If they can't, then they can't have committed a crime because they don't have the required mental state to have done so.”
Thompson added that charges such as leaving the scene of a crash can vary depending on the circumstances, from a Class A misdemeanor to a Class E felony.
He also said cases involving potential mental health concerns can involve additional steps, including evaluations by the Missouri Department of Mental Health.
“If charges get filed, then the Department of Mental Health may get involved. If there's a question as to either their competency or whether or not they understood the nature of the crime in the first place,” Thompson said. “Sometimes there are cases where it's so obviously that sort of situation that the agency or even the prosecutor's office might make that call and say, ‘You know, there's no way this person could have understood what it was they were doing at the time they were doing it.’ Sometimes you'll have enough evidence just off the bat to make that determination.”
Thompson noted that cases involving individuals with special needs or mental health diagnoses are not uncommon in the criminal justice system, though each situation varies widely.
Boone County Prosecutor Roger Johnson echoed that approach, saying legal outcomes often depend on a person’s mental competency and ability to understand the legal process.
“It depends on the circumstances/is case-by-case,” Johnson told ABC 17 News in a statement. “In some cases, because of a person’s mental condition, they may not be able to understand or participate in the legal process and defense. And if the person is not legally competent they can’t be prosecuted. There is a separate path the case takes. Also, a person may not be able to form the mental state required by the charged offense or they may not be able to appreciate the wrongfulness of their conduct, but those are defenses that the defense has to raise.”
Johnson added that cases involving individuals with special needs are relatively uncommon.
