New judge assigned in 2024 Columbia murder case

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A new judge has been assigned to a murder case surrounding a 2024 fatal shooting.

Jordan Brantley, 20, is charged with first-degree assault, second-degree murder and armed criminal action. He is being held at the Boone County Jail without bond.

A trial was scheduled for next month, but it has since been delayed. The defense looked to disqualify Judge Jeff Harris last week because Harris is presiding over cases involving Brantley’s mother.

The court denied the motion on Monday, but Harris still stepped down from the case “to avoid even the appearance of bias in light of the disclosure to the Court last week,” court filings show. Judge Brouck Jacobs will preside over the case.

Brantley is one of three people who were charged in the death of Trevon Ashcraft. Cordero Riley Jr. pleaded guilty last year to unlawful use of a weapon and second-degree assault and was sentenced to 15 years in prison.

Quanina Lambert pleaded guilty to second-degree assault and child endangerment in 2025. She was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

According to previous reporting, police allege Lambert was inside a home on Rice Road that was apparently targeted by a group of shooters who pulled up in an SUV. Lambert allegedly gave her gun to a man at the scene. Police found Ashcraft shot in the head and he later died at an area hospital.

Brantley was allegedly part of the group targeting the house and was seen on video wearing a black ski mask, police wrote in the probable cause statement. He was allegedly seen on video shooting down Boyd Lane during the shootout. Police believe he fired the fatal shot, previous reporting indicates.