Prosecutors file gun charges against suspect in Jefferson City murder case
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)
Prosecutors filed gun charges Friday against a man accused of murder in a Jefferson City homicide.
Semaj Harris was charged with aiding a shooting from a vehicle and illegal gun possession in a May 5 shots-fired incident at Community Park on Marshall Street in Jefferson City.
According to court documents, Jefferson City police investigated after shots were fired in the 700 block of Marshall Street. Officials say they found three shell casings on the ground at the park.
Officers watched surveillance cameras and reported seeing Harris and Tyrone Seals near a vehicle before Seals fired shots toward Dunklin Street. Police say Harris then got into the vehicle's driver seat and Seals got into the passenger seat and drove off.
On May 7, officers reported finding the vehicle and pulled it over for a lane violation. According to court documents, Seals admitted to having a gun in the vehicle that was easily accessible to both men.
Harris is also charged with second-degree murder in the death of 19-year-old Nilez Nichols. Nichols died during what police have called a botched drug deal.
Harris pleaded guilty in May 2019 but Cole County Prosecuting Attorney Locke Thompson refiled charges.
Harris is also charged with accessory to delivery of a controlled substance, armed criminal action, illegal gun possession and accessory to tampering with physical evidence in connection with Nichols' death.
No lawyer was listed for Harris in online court records.
