The Cole County Grand Jury handed down several indictments this week, finding there was enough evidence to send them onto the circuit courts for possible trial.
Among those indicted was a Jefferson City charged with three counts of first-degree burglary for incidents that occurred in May.
Christopher Rice, 23, is also charged with possession of a controlled substance, third-degree domestic assault and resisting arrest.
According to a Cole County Sheriff's Department, a deputy was flagged down by Rice's brother at Cornerstone Baptist Church on Old Lohman Road. He told the deputy he had just gotten into a fight with Rice at a residence in the 5000 block of Charm Oak Drive.
When deputies arrived at the address, they found items on the back porch broken, but were unable to contact anyone inside. A neighbor told deputies a man ran out the back door just before the deputies got there.
After searching the area, deputies returned and found Rice standing in front of the Charm Oak address. When deputies pulled into the driveway, Rice walked around the corner of the residence and then went to a neighbor's yard and hid behind a bush. He eventually stood up and took off running. Deputies chased him, but lost sight of Rice on Old Lohman Road.
A 911 caller reported a man had run into a house across from a gas station on Old Lohman Road. Four individuals flagged down deputies, saying a man had broken into their house and left toward Westview Drive. Other residents began yelling that the man was headed back toward Charm Oak .
Another neighbor told deputies a man had ran into his house and possibly was still inside. Deputies entered the residence and found Rice in an upstairs bedroom closet. After a short struggle, he was taken into custody. Deputies found two bags with white crystal residue in Rice's possession, which turned out to be methamphetamine.
Deputies discovered in later interviews,the incident began when Rice and his pregnant girlfriend got into an argument. He grabbed her and pushed her against a wall, trying to keep her from leaving. Rice 's brother was there and vowed to call authorities, but the brothers got into a fight and Rice fled.
When interviewed, Rice said he grabbed his girlfriend "because she's his girl and he can grab her," authorities said.
Other indictments were:
Three Jefferson City men were indicted after being charged with the theft of items from Dillards in October 2015 then fleeing on foot from the store, running across U.S. 50 and causing several accidents.
Terry Odom, 22, of 808 Chestnut St.; Zachary McBride, 19, of 1118 Vinson St.; Terrell Herndon, 20, of 907 Taylor St., are each charged with stealing and resisting arrest.
Jefferson City Police Department reports show two men concealed merchandise in their pants and in a backpack while in Dillards.
A store loss prevention officer attempted to stop the two in the store parking lot, but they fled to a vehicle.
As a police officer approached the vehicle, both men ran south over U.S. 50 and continued running until Odom was taken into custody in the 3600 block of Darice Lane.
McBride and Herndon weren't taken into custody until a few days after the incident.
Two Jefferson City men who were taken into custody for an April robbery .
Arrested were Edward J. Holmes, 26, first-degree robbery; and Matthew Key, 27, first-degree robbery and armed criminal action. Key is also a convicted felon.
According to police reports, the robbery occurred in the 2300 block of Southridge Drive.
The caller said he and another victim were attempting to sell an AK-47, when the potential purchasers/suspects produced a weapon and pointed it at the victims, demanding their rifle, cash and cellphones.
The victims were able to leave the residence without being harmed amid threats against them.
During the investigation, detectives obtained a search warrant for the suspects' apartment. Although the suspects were not initially taken into custody as a result of the search warrant, they were both located by officers and taken into custody.
Jefferson City police also recovered firearms, including the rifle in question, ammunition and a number of magazines from a location near the apartment where the suspects apparently hid from officers.
Also indicted was a Jefferson City man facing multiple charges for stealing several large TVs from Sam's Club on Stoneridge Parkway.
Brice Walther, 30, of 3116 Wardsville Road, is charged with one count of second-degree robbery and two counts of stealing.
According to Jefferson City Police, Walther stole TVs on April 18, 25 and 27. He went inside the business and left through a fire exit door without paying for the items. Seven 50-inch TVs were taken, valued at more than $8,000.
On April 27, Walther was approached by a store loss prevention employee as he was attempting to leave with more TVs.
As the employee attempted to stop Walther, he struck the employee in the face and fled the store.
Sam's employees began doing their own research through social media sites and recognized Walther from security video taken at the times he was in the store.
The store manager reviewed video with authorities and identified Walther as the person identified in the theft cases by employees.
Employees also identified Walther in a photo lineup, and two law officers who had dealt with Walther in the past were able to identify him in the video footage.
When brought in for questioning, Walther denied his involvement with the thefts.
However, officers noticed a shirt he was wearing when he was brought in was also one Walther was wearing during one of the thefts occurred.
Walther had only been out of prison and on parole for about three weeks at the time of his arrest in this case.
