CLAY COUNTY, Mo. — A grand jury has indicted 31-year-old Omar Maria in a police shooting that left an officer in the hospital with critical injuries. Maria now faces felony charges for first-degree assault on a law enforcement officer and armed criminal action. He’s currently being held in the Leavenworth Detention Center on a $1 million bond according to the Missouri Highway Patrol.
On December 14, Pleasant Valley Police Officer Jacob Baldwin pulled Maria over near the interchange for Interstate 35 and Interstate 435. Investigators say before Ofc. Baldwin could get out of his patrol car, Maria jumped out and started shooting. Two of those shots hit Ofc. Baldwin in the face.
Even though he was shot in the face, Ofc. Baldwin still managed to radio for help and provided a suspect description, which led to a search for Maria. He was arrested later that Sunday in Kansas City, Kan. after a standoff with police and was taken into custody on an unrelated federal warrant.
At last check Ofc. Baldwin was said to be in good spirits and recovering. The chief of police in Pleasant Valley said what happened to him was the worst injury suffered by an officer in his department.
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