Update: Court douments show argument lead to deputy-involved shooting in Callaway County

A 28-year-old man is charged after a deputy-involved shooting in Callaway County.

On Monday, the Callaway County Prosecuting Attorney said it charged Joshua Huddleston, of California, Missouri in the incident.

Just after 10:20 Saturday night, deputies were dispatched to a private business east of Jefferson City on Highway 94 for a disturbance with a firearm, according to Lt. Clay Chism with the Callaway County Sheriff’s Office.

Authorities said they then got more information that shots had been fired.

Callaway County deputies along with Jefferson City police officers and Missouri State Highway Patrol troopers responded to the call.

Court documents ABC 17 News obtained say Huddleston was in an argument with someone at a large, private event. They say about 30 to 40 people were at this gathering in the 1800 block of Highway 94.

Gary Sines is the owner of the property and said a local biker club has been renting out his garage for the past several months. He said they were having a chili cook off Saturday night.

“They have fundraisers for various causes,” he said. “They’re a nice bunch of guys and I’ve never had problems with them whatsoever.”

A probable cause statement says Huddleston was drunk when he started accusing a man at the event of making sexual comments toward Huddleston’s wife. It says Huddleston then pulled out a semi-automatic .40 caliber pistol and started making racial slurs towards the man and threatening him.

Court documents say another person at the event asked Huddleston to put away his gun. They say Huddleston then pointed his gun at that person’s head and took that person’s gun away from them. The documents say Huddleston then pointed both guns at the person’s head and threatened to kill him.

The probable cause statement says a different person at the gathering then came up behind Huddleston and tried totried to physically restrain him. Huddleston apparently then fell to the ground and dropped one of the guns.

The documents say the people at the event all started to run off at this point. They say Huddleston then pointed his gun at the fleeing crowd and fired one round.

The probable cause statement says authorities arrived and shot Huddleston after he refused to drop his weapon.

“When the suspect was encountered he still possessed a firearm,” Lt. Chism said. “The suspect made threatening movements toward the officers at which point a Callaway County deputy did shoot the suspect.”

Traffic was shut down on the highway in both directions for more than an hour.

Emergency crews took Huddlestonto the hospital in serious condition. As of Sunday, authorities said he was stable.Huddleston was in stable condition at University Hospital on Monday.

Huddleston is charged with first degree assault, unlawful use of a weapon motivated by discrimination, unlawfully use of a loaded weapon while intoxicated, and armed criminal action.

“He wasn’t a member or anything. He was somebody’s cousin,” Sines said. “They said they wouldn’t have thought he would ever do something like this.”

Huddleston has no prior criminal record.

The deputy’s name is not being released at this time. Lt. Chism said the deputy is a sergeant and a 14-year veteran at the Callaway County Sheriff’s Department. He is also a firearms instructor.

The Callaway County Sheriff’s Office has asked the Missouri State Highway Patrol to assist with the investigation.

Trooper Andrew Armstrong said an officer or deputy-involved shootings typically take longer to investigate.

“We want to make sure we uncover every stone and get all the information that’s available,” he said. “It’s a very complicated investigation. We have lots of people to interview – not only civilians, but also law enforcement officers to interview.”

The private business has been associated with biker activity the last several months, Chism said.

“Biker activity is not always of illegal nature,” he said. “There are several motorcycle groups that are of credibility. But we do know there has been biker activity at this property.”

Sines said he is going to continue renting to the motorcycle club.

“They’ve been great renters. I think some of them were concerned I was going to evict them or something,” he said. “I’ve never known so much as even a scuffle down there.”