Jacob Wray, 27, of Barnhart has been charged with three felonies for allegedly firing shots at a Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office deputy on Thursday afternoon (Feb. 15), authorities reported.
Fortunately, the deputy was not struck by the gunshots, Jefferson County Sheriff Dave Marshak said.
“The deputy is doing fine,” Marshak added. “I talked to him at the scene. The deputy handled the situation very well.”
Wray was arrested this morning (Feb. 16) after a 16-hour manhunt that ended when a county resident found him sleeping in his shed in the 13000 block of Hwy. JJ south of De Soto and held Wray at gunpoint until deputies arrived, the Sheriff’s Office reported.
This afternoon, the Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office charged Wray with first-degree assault, a class A felony; unlawful possession of a firearm, a class D felony; and armed criminal action, an unclassified felony.
The manhunt began around 3 p.m. Thursday when “the deputy was returning from training and heard a call of a suspicious person in the area of Hwy. JJ and Hwy. T (east of Valles Mines),” Marshak said. “The deputy was nearby and immediately responded to check on the suspicious person. As soon as he saw a male subject that met the description, he started to exit his patrol car. The suspect turned around and fired numerous rounds at the patrol car. The deputy was not hit, but one of the rounds entered the patrol car by the driver’s side door.”
Marshak said he did not know which side of the car the deputy was on when the bullets started flying.
Wray got away and the manhunt ensued. Law enforcement officers from the Sheriff’s Office, the St. Louis County Police Department and the Missouri State Highway Patrol helped with the search.
However, it was an alert De Soto-area man who found Wray near where shot were fired, Marshak said.
“This morning around 7:30 a.m. in the 13000 block of Hwy. JJ a homeowner noticed his shed door was open and he knew what had happened,” Marshak said. “He armed himself and found the subject sleeping in the shed. He held him at gunpoint until we arrived.”
Wray was taken into custody without further incident, Marshak reported.
If convicted, Wray faces a sentence of 10 to 30 years or life in prison for the class A felony. The class D felony carries a penalty up to seven years in prison, and the unclassified felony is punishable by a minimum of three years in prison.