Second defendant to stand trial in Joplin shooting incident
Jun. 11—A teen accused of driving another teen to and from the scene of a shooting a year ago in Joplin waived a preliminary hearing Thursday on felony assault and drug charges.
Heath L. Walker, 18, waived the hearing in Jasper County Circuit Court on charges of being an accessory to a first-degree assault and possession of a controlled substance. Associate Judge Joe Hensley ordered Walker to be tried and set his initial appearance in a trial division of the court for July 6.
Police responded May 15, 2020, to a report of shots fired at 1008 S. Connecticut Avenue. A bullet had traveled through a window into the living room wall of an apartment occupied by Alexandris Bohanahan while she was standing within 6 feet of the window, according to a probable-cause affidavit.
A witness reported seeing a car with three males in it pull up to the entrance of the apartment building's parking lot. Two got out and walked toward the apartment, at which one of them fired five shots from a handgun. Both then ran back to the vehicle and left the area.
Police later stopped a vehicle matching the description and arrested Walker, who was driving, and a passenger, Keelan Hearns, 19, of Duenweg. A third male in the vehicle identified Hearns as having been the shooter, and ammunition matching that recovered from the crime scene purportedly was found on his person, according to a probable-cause affidavit.
Hearns waived a preliminary hearing in October on four felony counts related to the incident, and his case remains pending in a trial division.
