Hearing moved to next week for suspect in Vibez Lounge shooting

Charles Dunlap, Columbia Daily Tribune
·2 min read
A shooting near Vibez Lounge and Grill at 19 N. Fifth St. left five people wounded and one man dead in the early-morning hours of Nov. 14. When police arrived, two men with guns ran in opposite directions after firing at each other. One of the suspects was killed by police. The other had an initial court hearing Tuesday.
A shooting near Vibez Lounge and Grill at 19 N. Fifth St. left five people wounded and one man dead in the early-morning hours of Nov. 14. When police arrived, two men with guns ran in opposite directions after firing at each other. One of the suspects was killed by police. The other had an initial court hearing Tuesday.

A suspect allegedly involved in the Nov. 14 shooting near Vibez Lounge in downtown Columbia will wait another week for his first court hearing.

Todd Duran Nesbitt Jr.'s lawyer, Gerald Mueller, has not yet received the results of a bond investigation on the three cases for which he is representing Nesbitt.

More: Chief vows Columbia police will be 'laser-focused' on Vibez Lounge, while owner defends the bar

Mueller asked that the hearing pushed to next week, to which Division IX Judge Tracy Gonzalez agreed. She moved the hearing back to Division V Judge Kimberly Shaw for 9 a.m. Wednesday, Dec. 1.

Shaw already was assigned the case, but was absent this week, which is why the continuance motion was heard before Gonzalez on Tuesday.

Columbia police: 1 killed, 5 injured in 'mass casualty incident' downtown

The hearing for next week relates to Nesbitt being held at the Boone County Jail. He's currently held on no bond for first-degree assault and armed criminal action, both felonies.

A window in the back door of the Blind Boone Home at 10 N. Fourth St. was struck by gunfire in what police suspect was a result of the gunfight that occurred outside Vibez Lounge at 19 N. Fifth St. in the early-morning hours of Nov. 14. A suspect in the shooting had an initial hearing Tuesday at the Boone County Courthouse.
A window in the back door of the Blind Boone Home at 10 N. Fourth St. was struck by gunfire in what police suspect was a result of the gunfight that occurred outside Vibez Lounge at 19 N. Fifth St. in the early-morning hours of Nov. 14. A suspect in the shooting had an initial hearing Tuesday at the Boone County Courthouse.

The other suspect in the Nov. 14 shooting, Quillan Jacobs, was killed by police.

Five people were injured in the shooting, with one person needing emergency surgery, Columbia Police Chief Geoff Jones said at a community briefing Nov. 14. The five injured are in stable condition.

Jacobs, 30, and Nesbitt Jr., 28, had been shooting at each other, police said.

Nesbitt fled north from the scene but was arrested later the same day of the incident.

More: Family of suspect in Nov. 14 shooting holds vigil after he was killed by police

Officers chased Jacobs into a nearby alley, where they shot and killed him, Jones said.

The police about 36 hours before the incident had announced a partnership with the University of Missouri and the Downtown Community Improvement District to step up increased foot patrols and crowd control downtown.

At the time of the incident, officers were in the immediate area of Vibez Lounge as well as other parts of downtown managing crowd dynamics and monitoring overall safety, Jones said.

Mourners stand stand around a vigil for Quillan Jacobs on Nov. 19 in the alley next to the Second Baptist Church in downtown Columbia.
Mourners stand stand around a vigil for Quillan Jacobs on Nov. 19 in the alley next to the Second Baptist Church in downtown Columbia.

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Vibez owner R'Velle Fair announced on social media Nov. 14 that the nightclub would be closed this past weekend, with a mental health professional on-site for two hours Saturday afternoon.

The purpose of the closure and special event was to "begin to unpack, and address, the trauma that some suffered as a result of the acts of violence that have occurred, and continue to occur, in our community," Fair wrote.

More: Is downtown Columbia safe? Leaders, business owners looking for solutions after shootings

This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Hearing moved to next week for suspect in Vibez Lounge shooting

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