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The Kansas City man charged with shooting two people at the Independence Center needs legal representation.
Eric D. Bratton, 24, appeared before Circuit Court Judge Jeffrey Buscher Wednesday without representation, and Buscher questioned if the defendant had anyone.
“Do you have a public defender?” Buscher asked.
Friends and family of Bratton’s crowded the hallway, and declined to comment.
Bratton, charged with first- and second-degree assault and two counts of armed criminal action for his role in the shooting, will reappear in court on Feb. 15. He faces a potential penalty of life in prison.
The incident occurred near an entrance to Sears on the first floor at the Independence Center at about 4:30 p.m. Jan. 22. One of the victims, a 17-year-old male, told police that he and Bratton exchanged words after Bratton followed them into the mall and made a comment about the female victim’s buttocks, according to court documents.
The comment set off a physical altercation between the two men, and after the fight was broken up, Bratton followed the victims, threatening to “shoot your (female friend) in the leg and then shoot you in the head,” according to the victim’s statement.
Bratton allegedly then fired three shots striking one victim in the leg and the other in the foot. The victim’s statement said the third shot narrowly missed his head. It was a .45 caliber handgun.
The victims, who have not been identified, were treated and released from a hospital.
The Kansas City man charged with shooting two people at the Independence Center needs legal representation.
Eric D. Bratton, 24, appeared before Circuit Court Judge Jeffrey Buscher Wednesday without representation, and Buscher questioned if the defendant had anyone.
“Do you have a public defender?” Buscher asked.
Friends and family of Bratton’s crowded the hallway, and declined to comment.
Bratton, charged with first- and second-degree assault and two counts of armed criminal action for his role in the shooting, will reappear in court on Feb. 15. He faces a potential penalty of life in prison.
The incident occurred near an entrance to Sears on the first floor at the Independence Center at about 4:30 p.m. Jan. 22. One of the victims, a 17-year-old male, told police that he and Bratton exchanged words after Bratton followed them into the mall and made a comment about the female victim’s buttocks, according to court documents.
The comment set off a physical altercation between the two men, and after the fight was broken up, Bratton followed the victims, threatening to “shoot your (female friend) in the leg and then shoot you in the head,” according to the victim’s statement.
Bratton allegedly then fired three shots striking one victim in the leg and the other in the foot. The victim’s statement said the third shot narrowly missed his head. It was a .45 caliber handgun.
The victims, who have not been identified, were treated and released from a hospital.
