Third person charged in Bone Hole shooting earlier this year

Charges have been filed against an area teen related to an alleged shooting that seriously injured three juveniles at the Bone Hole Swimming Access earlier this year.

Damian Ingram, 17, of Leadwood, has been charged in St. Francois County with three counts of first-degree assault, three counts of armed criminal action, and one count of unlawful use of a firearm.

According to the probable cause statement, on Jan. 29, at about 1:28 a.m., deputies with the St. Francois County Sheriff’s Department responded to a call at the Desloge Firehouse regarding a gunshot victim.

The report states that interviews with the alleged juvenile victim garnered that he was shot while operating his motor vehicle near the Bone Hole Swimming Access on Landfill Road in Desloge.

Deputies reportedly responded to the Bone Hole area and located numerous spent shell casings of 9mm and .223 calibers. The detective division responded and processed the scene where a Kia motor vehicle emblem was located.

The alleged victim was interviewed on Jan. 31 at St. Louis Children’s Hospital, where he identified Ingram as one of the juvenile suspects at the scene, according to the statement.

Ingram is currently being detained at the St. Francois County Juvenile Detention Center with no bond set. The court ordered Ingram to remain in custody at the juvenile facility until noon on his 18th birthday on Sunday, at which time he will be transferred to the St. Francois County Detention Center.

Ingram is the third person to be charged as an adult in the January shooting.

On Feb 7, 28-year-old Nicholas Fred Buchanan of Leadwood was charged with three counts of first-degree assault, three counts of armed criminal action, unlawful use of a weapon (prohibited possession by a felon), and unlawful use of a weapon (shooting at or from a moving vehicle).

Police reports indicate that when the alleged victim was interviewed at the hospital, he identified the suspect vehicle as a small, reddish SUV. The juvenile male further reported that the suspect vehicle crashed into the rear of his vehicle while he was fleeing from the incident.

During the initial investigation, the report states three juvenile suspects were detained and interviewed regarding the incident. Two of the three confessed to their involvement and presence at the scene. Two of the juveniles reportedly told police that Buchanan had driven them to the location and witnessed the man shooting at and into the alleged victim’s moving vehicle with a 9mm semi-automatic pistol. The minors also reportedly confirmed that Buchanan was driving a red Kia SUV.

The report states that investigators located an address for Buchanan, where they also found a red Kia with front-end damage and a missing manufacturer’s emblem from the front of the vehicle.

Buchanan was arrested, and police executed a subsequent search warrant recovering a Hi-Point brand 9mm pistol.

On Feb. 1, at approximately 5:48 p.m., Buchanan was interviewed by a detective about the incident.

During the interview, Buchanan reportedly waived his Miranda Rights and allegedly admitted to driving three juveniles in his red/maroon Kia Sport SUV to the location of the shooting. The man reportedly told the detective that he was armed with a Hi-Point 9mm pistol which he discharged into the alleged victim’s vehicle, firing 12 shots.

The report states that Buchanan said he knew, as a convicted felon, that it was illegal for him to possess a firearm.

The man was booked at the St. Francois County Detention Center, where he is currently being held without bond.

On May 16, 18-year-old Lane August Wills of Leadwood was charged with three counts of first-degree assault, three counts of armed criminal action, unlawful use of a weapon, and delivery of a controlled substance.

According to a probable cause statement, when the three juvenile suspects were detained and interviewed on Feb. 1, Wills was identified as being present at the scene and firing numerous shots from a .223 caliber AR-15 at the vehicle.

Following the interviews, authorities detained Wills at his house in Leadwood and interviewed him about the shooting. The report states a large quantity of marijuana, paraphernalia for distributing narcotics, and a semi-automatic pistol were recovered at Wills’ residence. Wills reportedly admitted to possessing the gun, marijuana, and paraphernalia. The report indicates that Wills was under the age of 18 at the time the incident is said to have occurred.

On June 6, Wills was booked at the St. Francois County Detention Center, where he was initially held without bond. The man’s bond was later set at $100,000 during a confined docket hearing held on June 14. Wills posted the bond and was released from jail on June 17.

Damian Ingram, Nicholas Fred Buchanan, and Lane August Wills are all now charged in connection with Bone Hole shooting earlier this year.

Damian Ingram

Bobby Radford is a reporter for the Daily Journal. He can be reached at bradford@dailyjournalonline.com