Protester charged with shooting officers in Ferguson
A 20-year-old protester has been charged with shooting two police officers in Ferguson, Mo., last week, authorities said Sunday.
County Prosecuting Attorney Robert McCulloch said Jeffrey Williams was charged with two counts of assault in the first degree, one count of firing a weapon from a vehicle and three counts of armed criminal action.
McCulloch said Williams admitted firing the shots but said he was shooting at someone else.
"We're not sure we buy that part of it," McCulloch said, adding that the handgun used in the shooting has been recovered.
He said Williams was involved in the demonstration that was wrapping up when the incident took place. Williams, he said, was being held in lieu of $300,000 cash bail.
McCulloch said information provided by the public was key to the arrest. He encouraged anyone who knows anything about the shooting to contact police, saying the investigation was continuing.
Williams has had several minor run-ins with police and one felony arrest in St. Louis, court records show.
He spent two days in jail last March for failing to appear for court hearings for traffic infractions, including driving without a valid license and operating a motor vehicle without maintaining proper insurance. He also spent two days in jail in January 2014 for speeding.
Police arrested Williams in June 2013 for receiving stolen property, a felony, and credit card fraud. He was sentenced in March 2014 to two years probation.
Bishop Derrick Robinson of the Kingdom Destiny Fellowship International, who has been an organizer of Ferguson protests, later told CNN he spoke with Williams -- and that Williams said he was not involved in protests. He said Williams told him the shooting occurred after he had been robbed by an unknown assailant.
The officers were shot during a protest just after midnight Thursday. One was shot in the face, the other in the shoulder. They were released from the hospital later Thursday.
Ferguson has been the scene of sometimes violent protests since the shooting death of unarmed black man Michael Brown, 18, by a white police officer in August. The shooting and subsequent investigation brought national attention and a Justice Department probe to the St. Louis suburb.
The Justice Department investigation found systemic racism in the police department, prompting the resignation of the city manager, a local judge and the city's police chief.
Attorney General Eric Holder issued a statement lauding the investigative cooperation between federal authorities and St. Louis County officials.
"This arrest sends a clear message that acts of violence against our law enforcement personnel will never be tolerated," Holder said in the statement. "In the days ahead, we will continue to partner with the authorities in St. Louis County to secure justice for all those affected by this heinous and cowardly crime. And we will continue to stand vigilant in support of public safety officers and the communities they serve."
The officers wounded Thursday were from St. Louis County and Webster Groves. After the shootings, the highway patrol and county police took control of security duties from the Ferguson department.
Hours after the shooting, Holder and Obama condemned the attack.
"They're criminals. They need to be arrested," Obama said. "And then what we need to do is make sure that like-minded, good-spirited people on both sides -- law-enforcement who have a terrifically tough job and people who understand they don't want to be stopped and harassed because of their race -- that we're able to work together to try and come up with some good answers."
Contributing: Donna Leinwand Leger, USA TODAY