Ferguson Man Held on $500K Bond After St. Louis County Double Shooting

A Ferguson man is behind bars on a $500,000 cash-only bond after St. Louis County police say he shot two people during an altercation last week, leaving one victim with gunshot wounds to the chest and bicep and a second victim shot in the leg. Chaz J. Williams was arrested near the scene of the shooting, which happened on Aug. 20, and now faces two counts of first-degree assault, two counts of armed criminal action, and one count of unlawful possession of a firearm.

According to FOX 2, surveillance footage captured parts of the shooting, and a St. Louis County Police Department probable cause statement confirms the attack happened on Aug. 20. The exact location and time of the shooting were not provided in the available reporting. Williams was prohibited from owning or possessing firearms at the time of the incident, according to the same account, because of prior convictions for drug distribution, assault, and resisting arrest.

The St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney's Office filed the five felony counts against Williams, per the station's report. Under Missouri Revised Statutes § 565.050, first-degree assault is a Class B felony carrying five to 15 years in prison, but the charge escalates to a Class A felony punishable by 10 to 30 years or life in prison if a victim is found to have suffered serious physical injury, according to Justia Law. It remains unresolved whether either victim's injuries meet that serious physical injury threshold, which would raise the assault counts from Class B to Class A.

Stacked Charges Raise the Stakes

If Williams is convicted of first-degree assault involving serious physical injury, Missouri law designates the offense a dangerous felony, meaning he would have to serve a mandatory minimum of 85 percent of his sentence before becoming eligible for parole, per RSB Law. The two armed criminal action counts add their own mandatory exposure: under Missouri Revised Statutes § 571.015, a first armed criminal action conviction carries a mandatory minimum of three years, which must be served consecutively to the underlying felony sentence with no eligibility for probation or parole during that time, according to the Wayman Law Group.

The unlawful firearm possession charge carries its own potential penalty tied to Williams's criminal history. Missouri Revised Statutes § 571.070 generally classifies felon-in-possession as a Class C felony carrying three to 10 years, but the charge escalates to a Class B felony carrying five to 15 years if the offender has a prior conviction for a dangerous felony, the Wayman Law Group notes. Separately, federal law under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g) exposes convicted felons in possession of firearms to up to 10 years in federal prison, or a 15-year mandatory minimum under the Armed Career Criminal Act for those with three prior violent or drug felony convictions, according to Rose Legal Services. Whether federal prosecutors will pursue charges against Williams given his prior record has not been reported.

Bond Hearing Set for Monday, Preliminary Hearing in September

Williams has a bond reduction hearing scheduled for Monday, and a preliminary hearing set for Sept. 14. Missouri Supreme Court Rule 33.05 gives defendants held under monetary bond conditions the right to a formal bond review hearing within seven business days of initial arraignment, requiring the court to re-evaluate release conditions, per the Glaesman Law Firm. Separately, Missouri Supreme Court Rule 33.01 directs judges setting bail to weigh the severity of the offense, the weight of the evidence, criminal history, flight risk, threat to public safety, and financial resources before imposing a monetary bond, according to Kirsch & Kirsch Law.

The shooting falls under the jurisdiction of the St. Louis County Police Department's Bureau of Crimes Against Persons, housed within its Division of Criminal Investigation, which carries primary responsibility for investigating non-fatal shootings, homicides, and violent assaults across the department's service areas, per the St. Louis County Police Department. The department investigated 45 homicides in 2025, down from 64 in 2024, while overall violent crimes against persons declined by 6.6 percent across its jurisdiction, according to RiverBender.com.

This case follows a string of gun violence prosecutions Hoodline has tracked in the region, including a North County shooting over car keys earlier this month that also resulted in a high cash bond. Williams remains jailed as his case moves toward next month's preliminary hearing.