A bystander was shot in the head early Saturday when gunfire erupted between two moving vehicles on West Main Street in Sedalia, and two men are now facing felony charges in connection with the shooting. Police say the wound was non-life-threatening, but the rolling gunfight sent at least one round into someone who had nothing to do with the dispute.
Sedalia police were dispatched to reports of gunshots near West Main Street and West Avenue at approximately 2:35 a.m. Saturday, according to the Sedalia Democrat. Officers determined that a shooting had occurred between two moving vehicles on West Main, and that an uninvolved person suffered a minor gunshot wound to the head during the exchange.
That bystander was transported for treatment of the non-life-threatening injury, the paper's police report noted. Investigators have not identified the person who was shot, nor have they said who fired the round that struck the bystander.
Suspect Found At Home With Pistol In Pocket
Officers located 26-year-old Quivonta S. Moore at his home, where they found him with a large pistol in his pocket, per the Democrat's account of the incident. Moore reportedly told officers he shot back while fleeing after an unidentified subject followed him and opened fire, though that account comes from Moore himself and has not been independently confirmed.
Two subjects in total were arrested and transported to the Pettis County jail, where they were placed on 24-hour holds, the outlet reported. Police said the investigation remains ongoing and that other subjects involved in the incident have not been identified.
Felony Charges Filed Against Both Men
Quivonta S. Moore was charged with first-degree assault, armed criminal action, unlawful use of a weapon and unlawful discharge of a firearm with injury, according to the same police report. The second man, 48-year-old Laparis G. Moore, faces an overlapping set of charges: first-degree assault, armed criminal action, unlawful use of a weapon and unlawful discharge of a firearm with injury. KSIS lists unlawful use of a concealable weapon, while the Democrat reports unlawful possession of a firearm.
Missouri's armed criminal action statute, as recorded by the Missouri Revisor of Statutes, holds that a person who commits a felony by, with or through a dangerous instrument or deadly weapon is also guilty of armed criminal action. A separate statutory excerpt from the Missouri Revisor of Statutes states that a person commits unlawful use of weapons by knowingly carrying a concealed firearm or another weapon readily capable of lethal use.
One Suspect Out On Bond, Other Remains Jailed
Quivonta Moore posted $100,000 bail on Monday, the Democrat reported. Accounts of Laparis Moore's custody status diverge: the Sedalia Democrat reported that he was being held in the Pettis County Jail on $250,000 bond, while KSIS Radio 1050 AM reported that he remained in jail as of Tuesday afternoon and was wanted for a parole violation with no bond set.
Neither report resolves which account is accurate, and this article presents both versions rather than choosing between them. Full charging documents and docket details for either man were not independently available; those seeking to track the case can search Missouri's Case.net system, which the Missouri Courts website identifies as the public portal for case records, docket entries, parties, judgments and charges.
The Sedalia shooting adds to a string of violent firearm incidents reported in the area this year. In May, a suspect was shot during a pursuit in Sedalia, according to KMBC, and in September, Pettis County deputies shot an armed individual who was hospitalized with a non-life-threatening injury, as reported by KRCG. For now, Sedalia police say their investigation into Saturday's rolling shooting continues, with additional subjects potentially still unidentified.
