A Columbia man remains jailed without bond after allegedly forcing his way into a Mizzou sorority house, assaulting someone and locking himself in a room with a female victim while holding knives.
Boone County prosecutors have charged 41-year-old Jeffrey Wheeland Jr. with two felonies: second degree kidnapping and burglary. He’s also charged with misdemeanor assault. A court filing from Boone County assistant prosecutor Melissa Buchanan says the occupants of the house in Greek town “were terrified during the encounter.”
Court documents quote Wheeland as telling authorities after he was arrested that CPD dropped him off for treatment at University Hospital on Tuesday. Wheeland is quoted as saying he felt unsafe because he “was being chased by people who wanted to kill him.” The Columbia Police Department’s two-page probable cause statement quotes Wheeland as saying he ran from University Hospital into Greek town and entered an open door and grabbed knives in the kitchen. Court documents say Wheeland actually pushed his way into the sorority house, knocking someone into the wall of a freezer. He then allegedly entered a study room with a female student inside and locked the door, placing a chair in front of it. He was holding knives. He is quoted as telling the woman he was not there to hurt her. Columbia Police entered the sorority house and told him to drop the knives, which he did.
Court documents quote police as saying he “appeared intoxicated on an unknown substance.”
Wheeland, who has multiple previous convictions, made his initial arraignment on Wednesday in Boone County Circuit Court. He appeared via video from the Boone County jail.
