Cape man sought in knife slashing

Police are seeking a Cape Girardeau man wanted for slashing the face of a man late Friday night on College Street.

Willie C. Shannon II, 26, of 650 N. Fountain St., is charged with first-degree assault, armed criminal action and unlawful use of a weapon. A warrant was issued Wednesday for Shannon's arrest with a $250,000 bond.

According to a sworn statement filed with the charges, a man reported that he was walking in the 900 block of College Street about 10:20 p.m. Friday when he was assaulted. The victim reported the attack to police while being treated at Southeast Missouri Hospital about an hour after the attack.

In the attack, the victim told police, he was slashed from the left temple back about four inches. Shannon, who the victim identified Tuesday in a police photo lineup, then slashed the victim from the back of his neck to his chin.

In the photo lineup, the victim was shown six pictures. The victim "immediately, without hesitation, pointed to photo number 5 and identified him as the subject who assaulted him and cut him with a knife," Michael Wilson of the Cape Girardeau Police Department wrote in his sworn statement. The photo was Shannon.

Prosecutors charged Shannon as a prior and persistent offender, meaning the possible punishment for his offenses can be increased. The first-degree assault charge, a class A felony, carries a sentence of 10 to 30 years or life in prison with no parole for 85 percent of the sentence imposed. The charge of armed criminal action carries a minimum term of three years with no parole or probation.

In the papers filed by assistant prosecutor Jack Koester, Shannon's prior felonies are listed as two drug convictions in 1998 and 1999.

rkeller@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 126