Caleb Hawkins, 23, of De Soto has been charged with two felonies for allegedly shooting and killing a man he claimed was wicked, the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office reported.
Hawkins allegedly shot and killed Joel Kessler, 45, of Imperial on Monday, Jan. 20, at Hawkins’ home in the 4400 block of Victoria Station Road north of De Soto, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
Today, Jan. 21, the Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office charged Hawkins with first-degree murder, a class A felony that carries a penalty of either life in prison or death, and armed criminal action, an unclassified felony punishable by three to 15 years in prison, court records show.
As of this afternoon, Hawkins was being held without bond at the Jefferson County Jail in Hillsboro, the Sheriff’s Office reported.
At about 12:30 p.m. Monday, Kessler and a woman reportedly went to see Hawkins at the De Soto-area home. Hawkins left the two in the living room and retrieved a 9 mm Mossberg gun before returning and allegedly shooting Kessler, the probable-cause statement in the case said.
Shortly after the shooting, the Sheriff’s Office got a call about the incident and deputies arrested Hawkins without further incident, the Sheriff’s Office reported.
Hawkins reportedly told investigators he believed Kessler was exuding “wickedness.” He also allegedly said Kessler’s body language screamed “evil” and that Kessler was trying to “front” him. Hawkins also allegedly claimed that Kessler tried to get Hawkins to kill him, the report said.
Hawkins reportedly said he told Kessler and the woman he was going to get keys when he retrieved the gun. He also said he hugged the woman with his left arm to protect her before allegedly shooting Kessler, adding that he kept shooting until he believed the “wickedness” was gone and Kessler fell, according to the report.
The woman was not injured, the report said.
Sheriff’s Office spokesman Grant Bissell said the woman knew Hawkins and asked Kessler to accompany her to the De Soto-area home.
Bissell also said it wasn’t clear why the woman took Kessler to the house, but investigators do not believe the woman intended for Kessler to be harmed.
A Sheriff’s Office detective wrote in the probable-cause statement that Hawkins was a danger to the community “based upon him acknowledging he did not know who the Victim (Kessler) was but believed he had to end his ‘wickedness.’”