Two face charges in connection with Monday night's shooting

SIKESTON - Two Sikeston men are charged in connection with a Monday night shooting.

Eric Johnson, 18, and Mark Williamson, 19, were charged by Scott County Prosecutor Paul Boyd with a Class A felony of first degree assault, two counts of Class C felony of first degree assault, three counts of armed criminal action, one count of unlawful use of a weapon and one count of first degree property damage.

According to the Sikeston Department of Public Safety, both men remain in jail under $100,000 cash only bond at the DPS facility awaiting transfer to the Scott County jail.

Acting Director Dan Armour praised the work of the officers involved with the case in the quick arrest and subsequent recovery of the weapons involved in the shooting. Armour also credited relatives of one of the suspects who assisted by getting some potential witnesses in for interviews as well as helping in the recovery of the weapons involved.

"When people stand up and can be counted on to do the right thing, even when it involves people close to you; this is the type of action that helps stop these crimes from occurring in our community. Right is right and wrong is wrong. I don't think it comes any clearer than that."

In connection with the shooting, DPS reported that a couple of the bullets fired in Monday night's incident struck the fiber optic cable that runs along School St. This line provides Internet, telephone and cable TV service, not only to Sikeston, but to a number of communities throughout Southeast Missouri.

Additional arrests are also pending in the case and should occur later this week. The investigation is ongoing and anyone with information is asked to call DPS at 471-4711 or Crime Stoppers at 471-1500. All calls can be kept confidential and rewards are offered for information about certain crimes.

The Sikeston Department of Public Safety reports that a couple of the shots fired in Monday nights shooting struck the fiber optic cable that runs along School St. This line provides internet, telephone and cable TV service, not only to Sikeston, but to a number of communities throughout Southeast Missouri. For customers experiencing a disruption in service it could be related to this and they can contact your provider to find out if they are one of the affected customers.