Man Wanted For Killing Black Bear Attempts To Murder Cops
Chris Keown, Who Illegally Skinned A Black Bear, Fired On Police And Narrowly Missed Officer’s Head
Chris Keown Fired Several Times At Pursuing Officer
Sunset Hills, Missouri – A man who was convicted last summer of killing and skinning a black bear fired shots at a police officer in a car chase that riddled the police vehicle’s windshield with bullet holes and one bullet narrowly missed the pursuing officer’s head.
At 1:12 AM Aug. 26, a police officer attempted to pull over the car Keown was in after the license plate was linked to a felony warrant, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The car stopped, but police said when the officer got out of his car, driver Cassandra Williams sped off.
During the chase, the car sideswiped an assisting officer’s car and then went onto the highway. At that point, police say Keown started firing at another pursuing police officer’s car. One of the bullets penetrated the windshield and just missed the officer’s head. The fleeing car lost control and crashed and both the driver and passenger were arrested.
Police found a loaded .45 caliber pistol at the scene. Keown is behind held on a $500,000 bond and Williams’ bond was set at $200,000.
Williams has prior convictions, according to police.
Keown pled guilty in 2008 to driving while under the influence of alcohol and pled guilty to driving with a suspended license in 2012, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The newspaper said Keown has been cited several times for hunting-related crimes.
He pled guilty in May of 2016 for shooting and skinning a bear. Keown told police he had seen the movie “The Revenant” and was unnerved after watching the bear attack scene in that movie, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
He said the black bear, which is a protected species in Missouri, was just 25 feet from his front door and Keown was protecting his young son.
Christopher Keown was charged with first-degree assault, armed criminal action, and interfering with a felony arrest and Cassandra Williams was charged with interfering with a felony arrest.
