Jefferson City man charged after allegedly threatening to pull gun on business owner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Jefferson City man was charged with a felony and a misdemeanor after he allegedly threatened to pull a gun on a business owner following an argument involving a purse on Tuesday.

Christian Chenet, 28, was charged on Wednesday with first-degree harassment and fourth-degree assault, a misdemeanor. He is being held at the Cole County Jail without bond. An arraignment was held Wednesday afternoon.

The probable cause statement says that police were called to a business around 2:40 p.m. at 128 East High Street for a weapons offense. The victim in the case is the owner of the business, who claimed Chenet came to pick up a purse that was left by Chenet’s boss, the statement says.

The victim opened the purse to identify the owner and Chenet allegedly became angry, but the victim claimed he felt obligated to give the purse directly to the owner, the statement says. Chenet allegedly called the victim a racist and then threatened to grab a gun from his car, the statement says.

A witness also heard Chenet say something about grabbing a gun, court documents say. Chenet was arrested and police found a gun in his vehicle, the statement says. Chenet allegedly told police that he was pushed by the victim and claimed he mentioned shooting the victim while he was on the phone with dispatcher, the statement says.

Chenet defended his actions to police, court documents say. The victim and witness told police that no one pushed Chenet, court documents say.