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PrintCOLUMBIA — Police arrested a fourth man in connection with a Tuesday home invasion and sexual assault in north Columbia and are searching for another man.
Police said the group of three juveniles and two adult men broke into the home, tied up five children between the ages of 7 and 16 and raped and sodomized a 16-year-old girl in a downstairs bedroom.
Christopher Lee Jacobs, one of two adult men sought in connection with Tuesday’s break-in, turned himself into the Boone County Sheriff’s Department on Thursday afternoon. Jacobs, 17, was arrested on suspicion of felonious restraint, rape, sodomy, first-degree burglary, first-degree robbery and armed criminal action. He was being held at the Boone County Jail on Thursday night on $600,000 bond.
Columbia police Sgt. Ken Hammond said investigators are looking for a fifth suspect who has “not yet been positively identified.” However, Hammond said the last suspect is an adult.
On Wednesday, three juveniles were arrested in connection with the Tuesday break-in and rape.
According to police reports, the five suspects were described as wearing dark clothes and black bandanas. At least one person was reported to be wearing a red bandana.
The group went to the house with handguns Tuesday in an attempt to locate several pounds of marijuana, according to police reports. While the children’s’ parents were out to dinner at the Isle of Capri casino in Boonville, the men forced their way into the home, told the children to lay facedown on their stomachs and bound them with duct tape.
Police said the intruders then ransacked the home and stole a Sony PlayStation 2, jewelry, household furnishings, food and change throughout the house. A 16-year-old girl was raped and sodomized. The victims’ names and their address are being withheld by the Missourian to conceal the identity of the sexual assault victim.
Hammond said more arrests were expected. He said police do not believe the crime was gang-motivated but that the home was specifically targeted.
Hammond said one of the suspects had contact with or knowledge of the tenants. Police were able to locate the first suspect because one of the children recognized him. They later found a Phoenix Arms handgun, three black bandanas, three pairs of gloves, two pairs of black shorts and shirts and a pair of Nike shoes described by one of the victims.
About an hour after Tuesday night’s break-in, Jacobs, one of the two adult suspects, was arrested and briefly held on suspicion of possession of a controlled substance. He was arrested at about 10:40 p.m., according to police reports, but an attendant at the Columbia Police Department did not have information about Jacobs being held there and Jacobs was not booked into the Boone County Jail that night.
Within hours after he was released, however, police issued a warrant for Jacobs’ arrest.
Police ask that anyone with information regarding the Tuesday night home invasion call CrimeStoppers at 875-8477. People with information do not have to give their name and might be eligible for a reward of up to $1,500 if the information leads to an arrest.
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