Woman charged with murder in Chariton County shooting; claims shooting stemmed from drug deal
KEYTESVILLE, Mo. (KMIZ)
A Keytesville woman has been charged with murder and other felonies in relation to a Friday shooting that left one man dead.
Sherri L. Laws, 52, is charged with second-degree murder, armed-criminal action, delivery of a controlled substance – 35 grams or less and two counts of tampering with evidence. No court dates have been announced.
Laws called Chariton County 911 dispatch just before 8 a.m. Friday. She allegedly said that an unknown man tried to break into her home in the 800 block of South Grand Avenue, according to the probable cause statement from the Missouri State Highway Patrol.
She said her fiancé, James Johnson, was shot twice. She allegedly told dispatchers that she shot the unknown man twice and that he was dead in a pickup truck in her driveway. The man who died was identified as Jacob Abney, 38. Johnson was found alive and was flown to University Hospital in Columbia.
Laws allegedly told law enforcement that Abney showed up to her residence to buy seven or eight pounds of marijuana for $6,000, according to the statement. Johnson allegedly let Abney in the residence.
Law enforcement indicate that Abney was shot and killed during the attempted sale. Laws claimed that Abney fired a gun inside, forced her to bind Johnson’s hands with tape and stole the weed. Laws then allegedly told law enforcement that she grabbed a handgun, followed Abney outside and shots were exchanged.
Law allegedly told deputies that she hid the marijuana in a barn on the property and then hid the gun near a fence. She took law enforcement to the area the handgun was hidden. She was taken into custody.
