Sedalia shooting victim dies, police seek premeditated murder charges against two men

SEDALIA, Missouri (KMIZ)

Sedalia police confirmed in a news release Tuesday that the victim of an April shooting in Sedalia died in late May.

Police did not release the victim’s name, but said she died from her injuries. Two men have been charged in connection with the shooting in the 400 block of North Prospect Avenue.

Bear Hagston, 23, of Sedalia was arrested in April and charged with first-degree assault, armed criminal action and unlawful use of a weapon. He is being held without bail in the Pettis County Jail. A hearing was scheduled for Tuesday afternoon.

Kyle Henley, 29, of Sedalia, was arrested Tuesday in the 1400 block of South Harrison Avenue by police and the Mid-Missouri Drug Task Force when law enforcement executed a search warrant, the release said. He was charged in April with aiding and abetting first-degree assault, aiding and abetting armed criminal action, aiding and abetting unlawful use of a weapon and hindering a prosecution.

Henley was arraigned on Tuesday and a legal counsel hearing is scheduled for Tuesday, June 25, at 1:30 p.m. He is being held on $100,000 bail.

Police wrote in the news release that the updated charges would be forwarded to the Pettis County District Attorney’s Office. Law enforcement is seeking first-degree murder charges against both men.

According to previous reports, Hagston shot a woman in the neck in the 400 block of North Prospect Avenue. The victim was flown to a hospital with a gunshot wound. A witness told investigators Hagston and the victim were arguing in her front yard before the shooting, court documents say.

The witness saw Hagston running away after the shooting, and police found a partially loaded pistol magazine at the scene, court documents say. Three other men were arrested and held in custody for 24 hours on drug possession charges.

Additional court documents allege that Henley gave Hagston the gun used in the shooting. The heavily redacted probable cause statement alleges that Henley drove Hagston to and from the crime scene.