JOPLIN, Mo. —
Monica Webb reportedly begged for her life before she was shot three times in the head on Saturday.
A witness said she heard Webb say “No, Ron, please” before hearing a gunshot about 10:20 p.m. come from Webb’s apartment at 1315 E. 15th St.
On Tuesday, Rondias Leon “Ronald” Webb was charged with first-degree murder and armed criminal action in connection with the shooting death of his estranged wife. Monica Webb had obtained an order of protection against her estranged husband, and the Jasper County prosecutor’s office had sought a summons for an alleged violation of the order.
Preliminary autopsy results show that Monica Webb, 36, was shot three times in the head inside her apartment, according to Joplin police Lt. Darren Gallup.
Rondias Webb, 35, 1502 S. Michigan Ave., Apartment 7-2, was shot underneath his chin. Police believe the injury was self-inflicted, Gallup said. Police found a .25-caliber semi-automatic handgun at the scene.
According to the probable-cause statement filed with the charges, police responded Saturday night to a call from a friend and co-worker of Monica Webb’s, who told authorities she had gone to meet her at the apartment where she had moved after separating from her husband.
According to Gallup, the two women were on the phone with each other because the friend was unsure which apartment Monica Webb lived in. The friend said Monica Webb opened the apartment door and stuck her head out, and that a man came from a patio area and forced his way into the apartment.
The friend said she heard Monica Webb say “No, Ron, please,” and then heard a gunshot. The friend said she went back to her vehicle, but she could see through the open apartment door the man standing over Monica Webb. She called police moments later, authorities said.
Rondias Webb has not yet been arrested. He remains hospitalized in stable condition, Gallup said.
Monica Webb obtained a protection order against her husband in September after he was arrested and charged with misdemeanor domestic assault in connection with a Sept. 23 incident at an apartment they shared at 1731 E. 33rd St.
Monica Webb wrote in her request for the protection order that he would not let her leave the apartment, then chased her down and tackled her after she managed to sneak out the back door.
“He was on top of me, telling me to stop yelling or he was gonna put a bullet in me,” she wrote. “I continued to yell. He then grabbed a rock and told me to shut up.”
A probable-cause affidavit alleges that he threatened to bash her head in if she screamed. She ended up walking away, but he followed her and kept trying to take her phone away, she wrote in the request. He told her that if she called police and he was arrested, she would be sorry, her application stated.
Newton County Circuit Court records indicate that Rondias Webb failed to appear at a hearing Nov. 7 in his domestic assault case, and a warrant for his arrest was issued. Three days earlier, he allegedly violated the protection order by approaching his wife in J.B.’s Piano Bar at 112 S. Main St.
A probable-cause affidavit states that he told her that he knew where she was living, and “I will be at your apartment.”
Court records show that the Jasper County prosecutor’s office sought a summons to be served on Rondias Webb for the alleged violation of the protection order. A summons does not require an arrest and can be mailed to a defendant.
Bonds
A BOND OF $250,000 has been set on the murder and armed criminal action charges against Rondias Webb. A $1,500 bond was set after Webb reportedly failed to appear on a third-degree domestic assault charge filed by the Newton County prosecutor’s office in connection with an incident Sept. 23.
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