Excelsior Springs man is charged with assault

An Excelsior Springs man has been charged with one count of first-degree assault in a shooting incident that left another man paralyzed from the neck down.

Prosecutors also charged Eric D. Perkins, 26, with armed criminal action and possession of a controlled substance.

According to court records, Independence police officers, responding to a Nov. 7 assault at a home in the 1900 block of South Leslie Drive, found a man on the bathroom floor with a gunshot wound to the throat.

Doctors at Centerpoint Medical Center in Independence determined that a bullet had struck the man’s spinal cord.

A woman living in the residence said the incident began when she began calling friends of her husband to raise money to bail her husband out of jail. Perkins later arrived at her house with another man who said he had money to contribute.

But Perkins allegedly got into a fight with a man at the house and allegedly shot him.

On Nov. 16, officers tracked Perkins to the home of a friend and saw him get into the passenger seat of a vehicle being driven by another person. After officers tried to stop the vehicle, it sped away and fled eastbound on U.S. 24 before crashing into a telephone pole in Independence.

Upon Perkins’ arrest, officers allegedly found 6.8 grams of methamphetamine on him.

This story was originally published November 24, 2015 at 7:05 PM with the headline "Excelsior Springs man is charged with assault."