Teenager to be tried as adult for deadly Columbia shooting and robbery
Editor's note: Burnett-Howard's name was updated after an update was given from sources. His name was previously written as it appears on Casenet.
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
A teenage suspect in a deadly spring 2023 shooting in south Columbia will stand trial as an adult.
A Boone County court on Friday certified Jermarion Burnett-Howard, 17, and he was charged with first-degree attempted robbery, second-degree murder and armed criminal action, all felonies. He is being held at the Boone County Jail without bond. A court date has not been set.
Burnett's uncle, Jermaine Burnett, was found dead after a police standoff in May 2023.
The decision came after a hearing Friday in which the judge heard from witnesses including a psychologist and juvenile officer.
Jermarion Burnett told investigators that his uncle forced him into a car at gunpoint the day of the shooting and made him go with him to "smoke" the victim, Janet Jago, 72, according to a probable cause statement. Jago called police after she was shot and told the dispatcher a man had approached her and demanded money.
Jago was married to Art Jago, a retired University of Missouri professor who unsuccessfully ran for a seat in the Columbia City Council's Fifth Ward.
A motion to deny bond says the Burnetts followed Jago from a bank to her home before the shooting.
Jermarion Burnett told officers that Jago almost hit their vehicle while they were driving, so his uncle shot her, according to the statement. Jermarion Burnett reported the shooting to law enforcement the next day.
Jermarion Burnett was ordered jailed without bond, according to court records. His name was not listed in Boone County Jail records as of noon Friday.
