19-year-old charged in Columbia shooting at Interstate 70 connector

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Columbia teenager already being prosecuted for evidence tampering in a separate shooting has been charged with four felonies in an August shooting on the Interstate 70/Highway 63 connector.

Chase D. Ricketts, 19, was charged Friday with first-degree assault, unlawful use of a weapon and two counts of armed criminal action for the Aug. 2 daylight shooting on the busy interchange.

Mechoal L. Lewis, 52, of Columbia, was charged a few days after the shooting with first-degree assault, three counts of armed criminal action, two counts of illegal gun possession and one count of unlawful use of a weapon.

Both men were in the Boone County Jail without bond Monday.

A motion to deny Ricketts bond states that he shot a gun from a vehicle into another vehicle, injuring the victim.

Ricketts was riding in the back seat while Lewis drove the day of the shooting, according to a probable cause statement. Police arrested him last week after serving a search warrant at Lakewood Apartments.

Ricketts is charged in a separate June 2026 shooting with felony evidence tampering for allegedly disposing of a gun.

Initial hearings in both cases were set for Monday afternoon.