Four people charged after a viral video showed a 63-year-old man being beaten following a fender bender in Jennings, Missouri, will remain jailed on $250,000 cash-only bonds.
Mary Moore, Tamara Logan, Davion Alfred and Martinez Logan appeared in St. Louis County court Thursday, nearly two weeks after the Sept. 19 confrontation near Jennings Station Road and Shannon Avenue.
Three waived their bond hearings rather than seek reductions. Alfred represented himself and asked the court to lower his bond, but a judge denied the request after prosecutors argued that he posed a public-safety concern and flight risk, KSDK reported.
St. Louis County Prosecutor Melissa Price Smith told the station that her office supported keeping all four defendants in custody, calling them “a danger to the community.”
After The Crash
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The confrontation began around 4:45 p.m. Sept. 19, when Lance Jeffries rear-ended a Ford Escape that was stopped while waiting to turn left from Jennings Station Road onto Shannon Avenue.
According to a St. Louis County Police Department charging announcement, Alfred, Moore and Martinez Logan were inside the Escape. Tamara Logan arrived shortly after the crash.
Jeffries pulled over and got out of his Chrysler Caravan to check on the people in the other vehicle.
Police said Alfred approached Jeffries and punched him in the head, knocking him down. The four defendants then repeatedly punched, kicked, stomped and dragged him while he was on the ground.
Jeffries eventually blacked out.
The probable-cause statements say Alfred took Jeffries’ keys and wallet before members of the group entered his Caravan and rummaged through it. Bags containing items Jeffries intended to donate to Goodwill were removed from the vehicle, and $100 was later found to be missing from his wallet.
What Police Found
Officers initially responded to the scene as a traffic crash. Jeffries was unable to speak and was taken to a hospital, while police said neither the other people involved in the crash nor bystanders told responding officers about the assault.
His family reported the attack later that evening.
A bystander had recorded part of the confrontation, and the footage spread across social media. Police said detectives used the recording, tips and social-media posts to identify the people involved.
Alfred and Moore were also identified through the original crash report.
All four were arrested Sept. 23.
Police said that after being shown the video, the defendants admitted to different parts of the confrontation. Alfred admitted punching Jeffries first, taking his keys, going through his wallet and entering his vehicle. Moore admitted kicking him multiple times, Martinez Logan admitted kicking him in the face and dragging him toward the curb, and Tamara Logan admitted stomping his legs.
Each was subsequently charged with second-degree robbery, third-degree assault involving a special victim and second-degree burglary involving unlawful entry into a motor vehicle. The charges are accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
Back Home
Thursday’s hearings came one day after Jeffries was released from the hospital following nearly two weeks of treatment.
Price Smith told KSDK that each defendant could face as much as 29 years in the Missouri Department of Corrections if convicted and the maximum potential sentences were imposed.
She also pointed to a television interview Tamara Logan gave before the arrests in which Logan acknowledged kicking and slapping Jeffries and said she had been wrong to do so.
Police said the defendants also made statements during interviews after their arrests describing their individual roles in the confrontation.
Jeffries is now recovering at home. The four defendants remain jailed on their $250,000 cash-only bonds, with a preliminary hearing scheduled for Oct. 21.