Columbia police officers arrested two men in connection to the homicide of 46-year-old Brian Daniels.
James Robert Thompson, 23, and Christopher James Hurt, 24, were arrested separately on Saturday evening.
Thompson was arrested on charges of first-degree murder after a traffic stop at Grindstone Parkway and Churchill Drive, a CPD news release said. His bond is set at $2 million cash.
“He was stopped by the police at a traffic stop and detained for questioning,” CPD spokesman Joe Bernhard said. “We had enough evidence to arrest him for the homicide.”
Ten minutes later, Hurt was arrested at his apartment on Apple Tree Court. CPD had a search warrant in reference to the homicide investigation and, while inside Hurt’s apartment, officers discovered cocaine. Hurt was arrested on cocaine possession charges.
Hurt was brought in for questioning and lied to the detectives about the homicide, Bernhard said. Hurt was charged with hindering prosecution. According to the Missouri constitution, hindering prosecution is when a person provides a suspect with a means to avoid arrest, such as warning them of a police encounter, providing them with money or transportation to leave town or disguising the suspect in any way.
Hurt’s bond is set at $9,000 cash, according to [Boone County jail records.](http://www.showmeboone.com/sheriff/0700/0700.asp)
“The probable cause for murder was that it was financially motivated,” Bernhard said.
CPD officers responded to the victim’s home 7 p.m. last Wednesday due to a reported possible robbery and unresponsive person, the news release said. Daniels was pronounced dead when officers arrived at the scene five minutes later. The Criminal Investigations Division determined the death to be a homicide and declared it an open investigation.
CPD waited to notify the victim’s next of kin before releasing his personal information. The cause of death is yet to be released, but an autopsy is being conducted by the department’s medical examiner.
Thompson and Hurt’s preliminary hearing is scheduled for 2 p.m. April 30. The investigation is ongoing.