Curtis Lee Hagey booking photo.
Charges have been upgraded to include murder in the fatal crash last Friday on 6th Street near Oak.
Buchanan County Prosecuting Attorney Ron Holliday announced the filing of upgraded charges against Curtis Lee Hagey.
As previously reported, 68-year-old James Spillman of St. Joseph died in the wreck.
According to the Prosecutor’s Office, Hagey is now charged with three counts, Count 1-Felony-Murder, which alleges that Hagey caused the death of Spillman by injuries suffered from an automobile crash as a result of the perpetration of the Class D Felony of Tampering in the First Degree; Count 2-Tampering in the First Degree, by operating a stolen vehicle on that same date without the consent of the owner of the vehicle; and Count 3-The Class D Felony of Endangering the Welfare of a Child, by having a child under the age of 17 in the stolen vehicle with him at the time of the crash, driving at a high rate of speed and driving in the wrong lane of traffic, resulting in the fatality crash, and injuries to the juvenile.
Hagey is alleged to have been operating a stolen 2019 Ford F-250 at a high rate of speed and in the wrong lane of traffic, which led to the crash that killed Spillman in a separate vehicle and also injured an 11-year-old in the car. Felony Murder in Missouri is a Class A Felony which carries a punishment range of 10-30 years in prison, or Life Imprisonment.
The complaint further alleges that the defendant is a “prior offender” under Missouri law in that he has been previously convicted of the felony of Unlawful use of a Weapon in 2017.