Man charged after allegedly shooting pregnant woman in KC area city
A man has been charged with three felonies after police allege he shot a pregnant woman who was driving in the metro area city of Sugar Creek Saturday.
Jermaine Hall was charged with unlawful use of a weapon, armed criminal action and aggravated fleeing a stop or detention.
Sugar Creek police officers were called around 4:40 p.m. to the area of Kentucky Road and Sterling Avenue on reports of shots fired, according to court documents.
Not observing anything, officers continued east on Kentucky Road, where they were flagged down by a man standing by a pulled-over vehicle. The man, who identified himself as the husband, said his pregnant wife had been shot.
The woman was shot in her upper left thigh, just below the hip, according to court documents.
The victim and her husband had just been in a residence in the area dropping off their two kids, according to court documents. The husband was in the passenger side of their vehicle on his phone when he heard a popping sound. He and his wife turned and saw a man, later identified as Hall, allegedly point a gun at them and fire one round, which is when he said she was struck.
Officers were rendering aid when the husband pointed out a passing vehicle and identified Hall as the man who shot his wife. One of the officers attempted to use the police vehicle to block the suspect, but Hall allegedly maneuvered around it and continued west on Kentucky Road towards Sterling Avenue.
Three people in the area took over caring for the victim and transported her to the Sugar Creek Fire Department. Officers followed Hall, who had allegedly driven past the secured gate of the Buckeye Fuel Terminal at 1513 North Sterling Ave. and into the private property.
Police followed and ordered Hall to stop and shut off his vehicle, but Hall allegedly drove through a second gate out of the property and onto North Vermont Street.
A semi truck driver on North Vermont Street said Hall got out of his vehicle and began hitting and pushing the passenger side door. The semi truck driver fired two rounds into the ditch outside the driver’s side window to scare the suspect off, according to court documents. Hall was then taken into custody.
While processing the scene, police allegedly recovered three semi-automatic handguns along with 26 shell casings, according to court documents. Inside the car Hall was allegedly driving, police found his driver’s license, one box with 21 live rounds of 9mm ammunition, 94 grams of what officers believe to be marijuana, 1.88 grams of a white substance containing cocaine, a handgun that had both a laser and light on it and miscellaneous drug paraphernalia.
The victim was taken to North Kansas City Hospital and was in stable Saturday night, but was put in a medical coma for at least that evening. Doctors were able to find the baby’s heartbeat but told officers the infant’s status was day to day.
While in custody, Hall allegedly said what happened was an accident, but never admitted to discharging a firearm.
Hall had his first appearance in court Monday morning.
