Jefferson City man facing charges after domestic call leads to pursuit

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Cole County prosecutor's office filed more than half a dozen charges Monday, a day after police said a domestic violence call led to a high-speed pursuit.

Brent Allen Johnson of Jefferson City faces charges including fourth-degree domestic assault, aggravated fleeing a stop, failure to yield to an emergency vehicle, failure to signal, failure to stop at a stop sign, careless and imprudent driving and speeding.

As of Monday night, Johnson is not at the Cole County jail.

According to the probable cause statement filed in the case, a Cole County deputy went to a home on Rainbow Circle for a reported disturbance. After arriving, the deputy learned the disturbance started over a vehicle owned by Johnson and the person reporting the disturbance. During the argument, Johnson allegedly made a threat and the victim said he feared for his own safety.

The person who called the authorities said this argument hadn't turned physical, but others in the past had been physical. As a deputy went to arrest Johnson, another deputy said Johnson had just driven away from the scene. That led to a pursuit which reached high rates of speed.

The pursuit left the neighborhood and ended up on Highway 50 westbound, during which the probable cause statement said Johnson carried out various unsafe driving actions, including driving into oncoming traffic at one point.

Deputies eventually opted to stop pursuing Johnson, and further search efforts did not turn him up.

A preliminary hearing for Johnson has been scheduled for May 12.