SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — A man charged with running over a Springfield police officer will be committed to state mental health facilities after a judge accepted his plea of not guilty by reason of insanity.
Jon Routh, 31, entered the plea Tuesday to two felony counts after running over Officer Mark Priebe on June 9, 2020, at Springfield police headquarters, the Springfield News-Leader reported.
Priebe was left paralyzed after being hit.
All parties, including Judge Jerry Harmison, agreed to the plea, according to court records.
Court documents say Routh was circling the police headquarters parking lot and then urinated on the front door, prompting Priebe to come out to talk to him.
Instead, Routh accelerated and hit Priebe, who was dragged underneath the car until it hit a barrier in front of headquarters.
Another officer shot Routh to stop the vehicle and any further threat, court documents said.
Priebe received a kidney transplant in June 2021 from an Independence police officer, Blaize Madrid-Evans, who was shot to death on duty. Priebe now works as a school safety specialist in the Republic School District.
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