Brothers arrested in northeast Columbia police chase, drug case
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) -
Police arrested two brothers in northeast Columbia after a chase, including one man whose prison sentence was commuted by former president Joe Biden.
Columbia police arrested Charles Key Jr. and Demetrius Key on Tuesday after a traffic stop on East Phoenix Road near Lamp Lane. Officers claim Demetrius Key was wanted on a federal parole violation, which led to them chasing him and Charles Key through the northeast Columbia neighborhood. Charles Key faces state charges for first-degree drug trafficking and resisting arrest.
Demetrius Key was released from federal prison in July as part of a sweeping round of commutations by Biden at the end of his term for some drug offenders. Key received a 30-year prison sentence in 2003 after pleading guilty to cocaine distribution and unlawful possession of a gun. He was set for release in 2029, but got out in July 2025, according to federal court records and Bureau of Prisons information.
A probable cause statement said officers doing surveillance on a house in the 4100 block of Lamp Lane saw Demetrius Key get out of a black Chevy Impala he had just been arrested in the day before. Officers allegedly saw Demetrius Key get into the car and then leave it with a plastic bag in hand.
Patrol units then claim to have seen Charles Key driving with Demetrius Key later that day on Clark Lane. Officers tried to pull them over on Alan Lane, when the probable cause statement said Charles sped off. The probable cause statement said officers saw the passenger throwing things from the window and "a large amount of white substance to be dumped onto the road from the passenger side of the vehicle." Police later claim this power field tested positive for meth.
When officers eventually stopped the car in the 1700 block of Phoenix Road, police say Charles Key ran from the scene. Officers eventually caught him near the intersection of Lamp Lane and Lightview Drive. Charles allegedly told officers that Demetrius urged him to go.
Police wrote that Demetrius Key was arrested after the stop. Officers say they found meth scattered both inside the car on the passenger side and on the curb next to the car. Police estimated that they found 51 grams of meth in total across the path of the chase.
CPD spokesperson Brian McNeill told ABC 17 News that Demetrius Key was arrested on Monday for drug and paraphernalia possession. State charges have not been filed against Demetrius Key for that arrest or Tuesday's incident.
David Ketchmark, a spokesperson for the Western District U.S. Attorney's Office, said there was no public information to provide about Demetrius Key's alleged probation violation.
