Two men each face eight felony charges with a six-figure bond for an alleged shooting incident which escalated to a high-speed chase with law enforcement recently in Lafayette County.
According to a probable-cause statement says Higginsville Police officers responded to a report of shots being fired near a business on Fairground Avenue just after 12:30 a.m. on Friday, March 1.
Officers spoke with witnesses and the victim who was shot at, but no injuries were reported. Officers did notice the victim’s vehicle had two bullet holes where one of the bullets nearly missed the leg of the victim. With help from Lafayette County deputies, the suspects’ vehicle was located and a high-speed pursuit ensued. The suspects’ vehicle reportedly reached 115 miles per hour at one point during the pursuit, but the vehicle was disabled due to a successful spike strip application near Route O and Lexington Road. Arrested were 24-year-old Jared Willingham, of Lone Jack, and 19-year-old Theaun Hardridge, of Kansas City.
Online court documents say each suspect has been charged with three counts of an Unclassified Felony for Armed Criminal Action; one count each of Class B and E Felonies for Unlawful Use of a Weapon; Class B Felonies for First-Degree Assault and Attempted Robbery; and a Class E Felony for Resisting Arrest. Bond for each has been set at $100,000 cash only.
Each appeared for an arraignment hearing and entered a plea of not guilty on March 1, and each cause is continued with a case-hearing at 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday, March 20, at Lafayette County Circuit Court.