Alleged murder threat leads to felony charges in Cape Girardeau County

Robert Hefner

A Galena man who allegedly threatened to kill a woman at a Cape Girardeau County gas station, ran from police, hid in tall grass and kicked an officer, according to documents filed in the case.

Robert Hefner, 49, was charged with third-degree assault of a special victim, a Class D felony, and the Class E felonies of first-degree harassment and resisting or interfering with an arrest for a felony.

Officers with Cape Girardeau County Sheriff’s Office responded to a call Saturday, June 22, at Rhodes Convenience Store on State Highway 72 in Cape Girardeau County. The reporting party told police that a white male wearing a red T-shirt and khaki shorts had threatened to bash her head in and shoot her, while “he wildly waved his arms and advanced toward her,” according to the probable-cause document.

When officers located Heffner near the gas station, Hefner ran, the report said. Hefner was later found hiding in tall grass. When an officer tried to put handcuffs on Hefner, he “kicked rearward twice with his left foot, streaking me in the left knee and causing pain,” an officer, whose name is redacted, wrote in his probable-cause document.

Hefner is in Cape Girardeau County jail and was issued a $25,000 cash-only bond from Judge Frank Miller.