SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — The man accused of running over a Springfield Police Officer in 2020 was in court on Nov. 28, 2022.
Jon Routh’s attorney appeared in a Greene County courthouse for a hearing. A pre-trial conference was scheduled for Apr. 4, 2023, at 9:30 a.m.
Routh has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
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The man accused of injuring Springfield Police Officer Mark Priebe has now been found competent to stand trial, and another court date is now set for March 2022.
Jon T. Routh, 30, was first arrested in June 2020 after pinning a Springfield Police officer to an outdoor barricade with his SUV, paralyzing the officer.
The incident occurred at Springfield Police Headquarters, where court documents state Routh was seen “causing a disturbance and urinating on the front door.” According to court documents, when asked to leave, Routh got into an SUV and crashed his car into an officer standing in front of the building, continuing to accelerate as the officer was pinned.
Routh was then shot in an attempt to stop the vehicle. Both Routh and the injured officer, Mark Priebe, were sent to the hospital for treatment.
Routh is also believed to have vandalized a woman’s car with feces that same month. In total, he received charges of first-degree assault, armed criminal action, and second-degree tampering with a motor vehicle.
Routh’s trial schedule has not yet moved forward in part due to an investigation into whether he was fit to stand trial, first being committed to the Department of Mental Health in August of 2020.
In late January 2022, Routh was deemed competent and is scheduled to head to court for arraignment on March 4.
Officer Priebe, who was left paralyzed by the incident, has since seen an outpouring of community support ranging from a motorcycle ride, a McDonald’s fundraiser, and other fundraisers to support the injured officer.
In September of 2021, Priebe received a kidney from a fallen Independence officer, three months after starting dialysis due to kidney failure from unrelated causes.
