St. Joseph murder suspect arrested in Columbia
A St. Joseph murder suspect is in jail Thursday morning after he turned himself in to Columbia police Wednesday night.
According to court documents ABC 17 News obtained, Charles Coats, Jr. is accused of shooting a man in St. Joseph on August 1st.
The documents say Coats and the victim were in a verbal argument on the front porch of his home when the victim started walking away. They say Coats then started shooting at the victim, fatally injuring him.
According to the documents, an autopsy on victim Jason Ginn showed he suffered four gunshot wounds to various parts of his body and died from a gunshot wound to his head.
Court documents say Coats fled the scene with the gun after the shooting. They say he has previous convictions of assault and felony resisting arrest.
Boone County Detectives tells ABC 17 News that authorities picked up Coats Thursday afternoon to take him back to Buchanan County.
Coats is charged with 2nd degree murder.
