KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Missouri State Highway Patrol identified 26-year-old Brett Yager as the suspected shooter of a Ray County deputy Sunday night in Lawson.
Yager and a 3-year-old boy both died in the incident.
A deeper look into Yager’s legal history revealed evidence of escalating violence.
Young had two separate cases ongoing in the Ray County Circuit Court.
Prosecutors charged Yager with second- and third-degree domestic assault for an incident in February. The probable cause statement accused Yager of choking and shoving a woman.
His second set of charges came from an incident in June.
The probable cause in this case accused Yager of pointing a gun at his wife and children. When asked if she thought Yager would use the gun, his wife said by pointing it at them she “felt like he would.”
In both cases, Yager pleaded not guilty. His bond was set at $2,500 without any additional restrictions.
“The charges, while they are domestic related, they don’t seem to indicate that there is a severe level of violence,” said Allison Young, of The Watt Law Firm. “But, obviously, looking back, you can say there was a misstep here and we could have ensured the safety of the community a little bit better.”
Young said additional bond restrictions could have been used to try and prevent harm to the community.
Additional restrictions include GPS monitoring, regular check-ins with a bond supervisor or not allowing a defendant to have weapons.
KSHB 41's Abby Dodge wanted to know what was taking so long in Ray County.
Both warrants weren’t issued until August when Yager was accused of committing crimes in February and June. He didn’t have a first appearance in court until September.
“There’s not a whole lot of extra law enforcement out there that’s able to serve these warrants,” Young said. “Especially on the lower level warrants like the D and the E we are seeing.”
Young said higher-level felonies get priority. Ray County has a small number of prosecutors and a fairly large caseload.
In addition to Yager and the child, deputies did find a woman safe inside the home.
Dodge asked if that victim was the child’s mother or wife of Yager. A spokesperson for MSHP said they may not be able to release that information because of laws that protect victim identities in the state of Missouri.
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KSHB 41 reporter Abby Dodge covers consumer issues, personal budgeting and everyday spending. Share your story idea with Abby.
