Man charged in St. Louis officer’s death has a lengthy criminal history
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ST. LOUIS, MO (KMOV) — The man accused of shooting two police officers, and killing one of them, has a lengthy criminal history in Florida and Missouri.
Thomas Kinworthy, 43, was charged Tuesday with first-degree murder, 3 counts of armed criminal action, assault, burglary, resisting arrest and unlawful use of a firearm. He was arrested on Sunday for Saturday’s shooting and is being held at the St. Louis City Justice Center. Police listed Kinworth’s address as the 1700 block of Lakeshore Drive in Owensville, Missouri.
Kinworthy is accused of shooting Officer Tamarris Bohannon and another officer when they were responding to a shooting call in south St. Louis City, police said. Bohannon died from his injuries on Sunday.
His criminal history spans decades. He reportedly had drug offenses in Missouri in the 1990’s.
In 2001, he went to prison in Florida for six years for aggravated battery with a firearm, shooting at a man in what police called a road rage incident.
“Our agents were of the belief that he was a violent individual, very dangerous and he would hurt someone if given that chance and he has proven that true,” Tod Goodyear said. He’s the public information officer for the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office in Florida.
He was convicted of exposing himself to an undercover officer in Florida in 2009.
Then in January this year, he was charged for attempted sexual battery and kidnapping, choking the victim and attempting a sex act, according to court documents.
And while investigating that case, police executed a search warrant and found Kinworthy had an arsenal of guns, ammo and tactical gear, like a ballistics vest and drum magazines.
According to court documents, he reportedly texted a friend talking about having hundreds of rounds.
He was out on bond and had an active warrant for his arrest for failing to appear to court. At some point this month, he made his way from Florida to Missouri, where he had ties.
“He has had a long string of violence back in 1998 and unfortunately he was not kept in jail on our charges and was allowed to be released and made it to St. Louis,” Goodyear said.
At this time, a motive for shooting the officers is unknown.
“We know we put our lives on the line every day we put the badge on and hope it never happens and in this case it happened to one of our fellow brothers,” Goodyear said. “Hopefully this will be the last time that he sees the light of day.”
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