Suspect in deadly motorcycle club shooting fails to appear in traffic case
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
A Hickory County man accused in a deadly Lake Ozark shooting during what investigators say was a motorcycle club brawl has been arrested after failing to appear in court.
Missouri State Highway Patrol troopers arrested Tonka Way-Con Ponder, 51, on Thursday in Camden County, according to an online arrest report. A warrant was issued for his arrest this week in Miller County for failure to appear on charges of not registering a vehicle, driving without insurance and using another person's license plates, according to online court records.
The charges date back to February.
According to Sgt. Scott Hines, the Camden County Sheriff's office public information officer, Ponder is no longer in our custody as he posted his $3,000 bond.
Ponder was charged last summer with first-degree assault and armed criminal action in a shooting that killed one person and injured four outside Casablanca Pub and Grill. A probable cause statement says Ponder shot a person identified as B.C. outside the bar after B.C. drew a gun. His case is being heard in St. Charles County on a change of venue.
Cole County Prosecuting Attorney Locke Thompson was named special prosecutor in the case in March.
The office of Andrew Rehmer, Ponder's attorney, declined to comment citing the ongoing cases.
A trial date is scheduled for September 2023.
