TRENTON, Mo. — Jameson “Jamie” Read served his country and was even injured while fighting in Afghanistan, but now the Trenton, Mo., man is charged with murder.
“I want you to tell the real truth about him, you know he’s a wounded soldier,” said Dale Meeks, stepfather.
Read has been charged with second-degree murder and armed criminal action.
Court documents state Read admitted to shooting his business partner, 52-year-old John Vencill, twice in the chest and once in the head with an AK-47. The shooting happened on July 3 at Read’s house in the small town of Trenton.
However, the suspect’s stepfather finds the terrible news hard to believe. Meeks says Read proudly served four years in the Army, loved every minute of being in the military and even received a Purple Heart.
“Jamie was a United States Army soldier who gave his arm for this country,” Meeks said. “It’s really hard to believe that he would do something like that.”
“He’s very proud to have served in the Army; that was his dream,” said Timmy Washburn, neighbor.
Meeks said a few months ago, Read was shot in his right arm while serving in Afghanistan. His stepfather says as a result of the injury, the wounded soldier was discharged.
“And they didn’t de-program him when they turned him loose,” Meeks said.
Meeks further states that after getting out of the Army, Jamie was supposed to undergo treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, in Hawaii before returning home to Trenton.
“I mean, he had PTSD really bad and he was over in Hawaii the last year or so and they had him in programs over there and they were medicating him, and, the medication wasn’t working and that’s why he’s not in the service no more,” Meeks said.
According to a probable cause statement, Read also admitted that after he shot and killed Vencill, he put Vencill’s body in the trunk of the victim’s car before dumping the vehicle in a pond in nearby Sullivan County.
Later this month, the two men had planned to open a restaurant at the Riverside Country Club in Trenton.
“The suspect gave us the information that we needed to locate the vehicle and the body. We believe that there was a bad business deal along with some money that may have played into a motive, ” said Trenton Police Chief Tommy Wright.
“There isn’t any way the real truth has come out. [You’ll be there in court with him all the way?] I”ll back that boy a million percent,” said Meeks.
