A 17-year-old Columbia boy has been sentenced to 15 years in prison after pleading guilty to opening fire on a vehicle full of people near Columbia Mall last year, a case that also unraveled into weapons and drug trafficking charges. Samiyon Myers pleaded guilty to second-degree assault, armed criminal action, and second-degree drug trafficking in connection with the January 19, 2025 shooting in the 2100 block of West Worley Street.
According to ABC 17 News, court documents allege that Myers was captured on video from Columbia Mall firing a gun at the occupied vehicle. Police were called to the scene at 5:30 p.m. that day on a shots-fired report, and officers arriving on scene saw bullet holes in the vehicle, per the outlet's earlier reporting.
Investigators reportedly identified Myers partly through an unusual detail: he was the only person at the scene wearing red underwear, which police used to help pinpoint him among those detained. A gun was later found in a bag near Myers, and additional firearms were recovered from a garbage bin, according to the earlier reporting cited by the station.
From One Shooting Charge to a Sprawling Case
The case initially looked far different than where it ended. Myers was originally charged with first-degree assault, one count of shooting at a car, two counts of armed criminal action, two counts of unlawful use of a weapon, delivery of a controlled substance, and second-degree drug trafficking, per the earlier reporting. Police allegedly found more than 200 pills in connection with Myers during the investigation.
He ultimately pleaded guilty to the reduced charges of second-degree assault, armed criminal action, and second-degree drug trafficking. Under Missouri Revised Statutes § 571.015, armed criminal action is an unclassified felony that carries a mandatory minimum of three years in prison with no eligibility for probation, parole, or a suspended sentence, and that time must be served consecutively to any underlying felony sentence. Second-degree assault, meanwhile, is classified under Missouri statute RSMo § 565.052 as a Class D felony carrying up to seven years, covering conduct like knowingly causing injury with a deadly weapon or recklessly discharging a firearm.
Myers is currently held at the Boone County Jail rather than in juvenile custody. Court filings reported by KXEO show that prosecutors moved in February to transfer him out of juvenile detention after he was involved in multiple disciplinary incidents behind bars, including physical assaults, verbal threats, and his own demands to be sent to adult detention.
Six Juveniles Detained Near a Busy Retail Corridor
The shooting unfolded near Columbia Mall.
Witness statements and court documents indicate that after shots were fired at the vehicle, suspects fled on foot toward a McDonald's at 415 North Stadium Boulevard. The Columbia Police Department detained six juveniles at that location and eventually released three of them to their parents. Officers also seized three firearms during the response, including one weapon that had been reported stolen.
It remains unclear how the other juveniles detained that day were ultimately handled by the justice system, and whether the drug trafficking charge against Myers was connected to any broader distribution network in Boone County.
Part of a Broader Pattern Near Stadium Boulevard
The Worley Street shooting was not an isolated event in the area. In a separate incident, Columbia Police arrested another 17-year-old after 8 to 10 gunshots were fired inside a Dick's Sporting Goods store at the Shoppes at Stadium, followed by an alleged carjacking near a Chick-fil-A.
The case also lands amid wider concern over youth violence in Columbia. Juvenile arrests in the city reached 186 in 2024, with youth under 18 involved in an estimated 23% to 28% of city violent crime incidents and homicides since 2022, per figures reported by Silence Dogood's Columbia Dispatch. Separately, the article discusses juvenile-court referral rates in Boone County.
Public safety concerns have also surfaced in Columbia.
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