JENNINGS, Mo. – A man is behind bars after gunfire at a north St. Louis County park earlier this week, which reportedly happened after he threatened to kill his girlfriend.
Mario Hudgins faces 12 felonies in the investigation. His slate of charges includes armed criminal action and domestic assault, kidnapping. Police arrested Hudgins late Wednesday evening.
According to court documents obtained by FOX 2, Hudgins shot at his girlfriend, but missed, at Koeneman Park around 3 p.m. Wednesday. Authorities then received a shot spotter alert and rushed to the scene.
As police first attempted to confront Hudgins, he reportedly flashed his gun at the first officer to respond and ran away. More police began arriving to a scene, and a foot chase followed. Hudgins climbed a fence during the chase and dropped his gun, per court documents.
Eventually, police tracked his location and found him barricaded in a sewer. After six hours of waiting, Hudgins came out of the sewer. Seconds later, he began physically attacking officers, one who suffered notable injuries.
The girlfriend was not injured at the park. However, Hudgins allegedly beat her up the night prior to the shots fired at Koeneman Park.
Court documents state that Hudgins accused his girlfriend of stealing some money from him. An altercation followed, and investigators say Hudgins forced his girlfriend to the ground and pointed a firearm at her.
His girlfriend’s cousin, who was living in the same home with Hudgins and his girlfriend, was checking in amid the disturbance. Hudgins reportedly pointed a gun at her, and she moved away from the room.
Later on, Hudgins left the home and returned the next morning, taking his girlfriend to a hotel. According to court documents, he made continuous demands for money he accused her of stealing and held her at gunpoint.
Court documents add he also ingested drugs while at the hotel and ordered her to ask her friends and family for money. After an undisclosed amount of time, Hudgins and his girlfriend ended up at Koeneman Park.
The St. Louis County Police Department is handling the investigation. Hudgins is jailed on a $500,000 cash-only bond. He has an arraignment hearing scheduled for Monday in the investigation.