Home invasion suspects to be tried as adults

COLUMBIA — Two teenage brothers arrested in connection with a September home invasion and sexual assault are now facing felony charges as adults.

Twin brothers Jamie C. Harris and James T. Harris, both 16 and of Columbia, are charged with first-degree robbery, first-degree burglary, forcible sodomy, forcible rape, felonious restraint and armed criminal action, according to the Boone County Jail. The decision to charge the twins as adults came Monday afternoon after certification hearings in juvenile court.

Police said a group of three teens and two adult men who broke into a house in September tied up five children with duct tape and raped and sodomized a 16-year-old girl. The five suspects went to the house trying to find several pounds of marijuana. They then stole a Sony Playstation 2, jewelry, household furnishings, food and change, police said.

The victims’ names and address are being withheld by the Missourian to conceal the identity of the sexual assault victim.

The adult suspects, Jarrod Lilly, 29, and Christopher Lee Jacobs, 17, were arrested in connection with the incident in September. They are being held at the Boone County Jail.

A certification hearing for a third juvenile suspect will be held next month, Boone County prosecutor Andy Sholz said Tuesday.

The twins were being held Tuesday afternoon at the Boone County Jail, each with a bond of $600,000.