𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐲 𝐈𝐧𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐝 𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐀𝐬𝐬𝐚𝐮𝐥𝐭 𝐀𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐀𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐄𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐩𝐞 𝐚𝐭 𝐌𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐢 𝐏𝐬𝐲𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐜 𝐂𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫

𝑫𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒍𝒂𝒊𝒎𝒆𝒓: 𝑨𝒍𝒍 𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒅𝒖𝒂𝒍𝒔 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒖𝒎𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏𝒏𝒐𝒄𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒍 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒈𝒖𝒊𝒍𝒕𝒚 𝒊𝒏 𝒂 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒍𝒂𝒘. 𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒈𝒆𝒔 𝒎𝒂𝒚 𝒃𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒎𝒊𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒅, 𝒂𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒅, 𝒐𝒓 𝒅𝒆𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒅 𝒖𝒏𝒇𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒅. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒑𝒂𝒈𝒆 𝒔𝒖𝒎𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒛𝒆𝒔 𝑷𝒓𝒐𝒃𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝑪𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝑺𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒕𝒔.

On July 13, 2026, a University of Missouri police officer was at the University of Missouri Hospital Security Office for an unrelated incident when the officer observed live surveillance video from the Assessment Unit at the University of Missouri Psychiatric Center in Columbia. The officer observed patient Kevaughna Mechelle Nelson use her right arm to grab a nurse’s badge. The officer reported seeing Nelson move behind the nurse, wrap her right arm around the nurse’s neck over her right shoulder, and use her left hand to continue trying to grab the duty badge.

The probable cause statement notes that the Assessment Unit is a locked unit and that doors leaving the unit can only be opened with an approved duty badge. The officer reported that Nelson was wearing Boone County Jail detainee clothing at the time of the assault.

The officer later spoke with the nurse, who stated Nelson was in the custody of the Boone County Sheriff’s Office and was scheduled to be released from the University of Missouri Psychiatric Center the next morning, July 14, 2026. The nurse stated Nelson reached out and grabbed their badge in an attempt to escape the unit. The nurse reported that Nelson placed her arm around their neck in a “headlock” while continuing to try to grab the duty badge. The nurse stated Nelson did not apply pressure to her arteries or trachea and said it was not a “choke hold.” The nurse reported that during the incident, her right thumb was jammed in the scuffle, causing physical pain that continued after the conflict ended.

The probable cause statement notes that Nelson was an inmate at the Boone County Jail for a misdemeanor at the time of the incident. Officers requested charges of assault in the third degree – special victim and escape or attempted escape from custody. Nelson is charged with assault in the fourth degree.

𝗖𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗜𝗻𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻:

https://www.courts.mo.gov/casenet/cases/newHeader.do?inputVO.caseNumber=26BA-CR03063&inputVO.courtId=CT13#docket