Zachary Steven Moss, 29, of Hillsboro has been accused of trying to bribe a woman not to testify against him. He had previously been charged with three felonies and three misdemeanors after he allegedly used a ladder to enter a High Ridge apartment and threaten three people with a gun, according to court documents.
Moss on Oct. 30 was charged with tampering with a witness in a felony prosecution, a class D felony punishable by up to seven years in prison. In August, he was charged with first-degree burglary, a Class B felony; unlawful use of a weapon, a class E felony; armed criminal action, an unclassified felony; and third-degree kidnapping and two counts of fourth-degree domestic assault, which are class A misdemeanors, court records said.
He was arrested on Oct. 30 after allegedly trying to bribe the woman, and he was released Nov. 4 on a $15,000 bond from the Jefferson County Jail in Hillsboro. He is scheduled to return to court on Dec. 9, court documents show.
As part of his release, he is not allowed to contact the woman, and he must wear a GPS monitor and not be within 1,000 feet of where the woman lives, works or the Jefferson County Courthouse, except when he is scheduled to appear in court, according to court records.
According to the case’s probable-cause statement, the woman said Moss offered her $1,000 to “walk out the door right now.” Moss allegedly said he offered the woman $500 to “get out of here.”
According to a probable-cause statement filed earlier this year, Moss on Aug. 26 used a ladder to climb to a second-story balcony and allegedly entered an apartment on Emerson Road in High Ridge. He then allegedly started cursing at a woman who was getting out of the shower and trapped her in the bathroom.
Another woman, a man and three children who were younger than 13 years old also were in the apartment at the time, the report said.
The man attempted to get Moss to calm down. However, Moss repeatedly said he would be staying in the apartment, and he then pulled out a gun, according to the report.
The man and one of the women left after Moss pulled out the gun. The woman who was in the bathroom lunged at Moss in an attempt to get the gun, but she was unable to get it, the report said.
The woman was able to flee the apartment, and Moss also left, according to the report.
The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office had been called about the disturbance, and deputy saw Moss driving away in a 2014 GMC Sierra. The deputy stopped Moss in the parking lot of the QuikTrip gas station, 1617 Gravois Road, in High Ridge, the report said.
The deputy allegedly found a gun in the pickup and a partially open ladder in the pickup bed, according to the report.
A class B felony is punishable by five to 15 years in prison, and class E felony carries a penalty of up to four years in prison. An unclassified felony is punishable by three to 15 years in prison, and class A misdemeanors carry a penalty of up to one year in jail and a fine of up to $2,000.