Douglass Park homicide suspect arrested

The suspect surrendered himself to the police.

By Kathleen Pointer

Published Nov. 6, 2008

The suspect in a shooting at Columbia's Douglass Park homicide was arrested Wednesday after turning himself in to police.

Columbia resident Grady F. Dortch Jr., 29, walked into the Columbia Police Department at 6 p.m. and surrendered to authorities. During questioning, Dortch made statements tying him to the murder of Miles Q. Heard that took place in Douglass Park on Tuesday afternoon, police said. He was arrested on outstanding warrants for first-degree murder, armed criminal action and a parole and probation revocation warrant.

Dortch is being held in the Boone County Jail.

Police issued a warrant for the arrest later in the afternoon on the day of the murder after receiving information from the group of people who witnessed the event.

An autopsy preformed by the Boone County Medical Examiner's Office on Wednesday determined that Heard was killed by two gunshot wounds, one to his chest and the other to his left thigh. The examiner ruled the death a homicide.

"The shots were fired from a very, very close range," CPD Lt. Scott Young said.

The murder weapon has not yet been apprehended.

The two men were acquaintances and the murder is not considered to be random, police said.

"They had gotten in a fight the week before at Pepper's," Young said. "But to what extent it played in this we are unsure."

Police are still investigating information that other people were in the car with Dortch.

"We think there were other people in the car with him and we're trying to track them down," Young said. "Whether the people in the car would be considered suspects we don't know at this point."