A Mount Sterling man is being charged for allegedly shooting a Bland woman on Feb. 19 during the early-morning hours.

Ryan M. Johnson, 38, is being charged with a class A felony and is expected to appear before Gasconade County Associate Circuit Judge Ada Brehe-Krueger today (Wednesday).

According to Gasconade County Sheriff Scott Eiler, a report of a gunshot victim was called in at 6:34 a.m. Saturday.

“We responded to K&M Country Store and located the victim,” Eiler said of their encounter with the woman in Bland.

Deputies were able to take a statement from the victim. 

“She had met with a male subject at Valentine Ford Road near the creek access, which is where the altercation took place,” said Eiler on Tuesday. 

According to the report, the 38-year-old woman met with Johnson at Valentine Ford creek access. The woman did not say why they met there.

“There was an altercation that took place and he fired one round from an AR15 into the vehicle and managed to get her finger and her head,” Eiler said.

Eiler was unsure if the weapon had a long or short barrel.

The victim was shot through the closed window of the vehicle, he confirmed.

“The window was shattered, and there was a bullet hole through the window,” Eiler said. The vehicle was towed to a secure location by Owens Towing in Belle.

The victim was transported to a trauma center in Columbia by Osage Ambulance District, Linn, for non-life-threatening injuries.

Deputies drove to Valentine Ford Road and found evidence collaborating the victim’s statement.

They were able to identify the suspect and locate his address in the 2800 block of Mount Sterling Road.

“When we went to go make contact with him at his residence he resisted mildly but sustained no injuries to him or us,” Eiler said.

Johnson was taken into custody and on Feb. 20 was charged with assault in the first degree — resulting in serious physical injury and armed criminal action. His bond is set at $50,000 cash or surety by the Gasconade County Associate Circuit Court. He was still in custody on Tuesday morning.

A later interview with Johnson resulted in a confession of his actions and recovery of the firearm used in the incident.

“You would think a lot of information would be available,” Eiler said Tuesday morning. “But it was a pretty easy investigation.”