Charges filed in shooting of off-duty police officer in St. Louis County
A Ferguson man has been charged in the shooting of an off-duty police officer, who was working a second job as a security officer at Walmart on Sunday.
Fhontez Mitchell, 20, was charged with one count of first-degree robbery, one count of first-degree assault, two counts of armed criminal action, one count of tampering with physical evidence in a felony prosecution, and one count of resisting or interfering with arrest by the St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office on Wednesday.
Mitchell was taken into custody in north St. Louis County following a manhunt by police that began Sunday following the shooting.
The shooting happened at 7:11 a.m. when the uniformed officer, who was working at his second job as a Walmart security officer, confronted the man on the suspicion that he was shoplifting women’s clothing from the store at 1071 West Florissant Ave. in Ferguson.
The officer was shot in the arm when Mitchell fired multiple times using a .45 semi-automatic rifle, a news release from St. Louis County Police spokesman Sgt. Benjamin Granda said.
Two additional shots to the torso were stopped by the officer’s body armor. The 35-year-old officer was taken to a local hospital for treatment of his non-life-threatening injuries. He has about two and a half years experience in law enforcement, the release stated.
According to Granda, Mitchell burned the clothes he was wearing at the time of the incident. When arrested, police said Mitchell confessed to the crime.
Mitchell’s bond has been set at $1 million.
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