A man accused of attacking his wife and two stepchildren is currently awaiting a trial date, according to local law enforcement. Missouri police responded to a domestic dispute and summarily charged a 36-year-old man with several counts of domestic assault. However, it is unclear what evidence was used to proceed to the arrest stage.
According to the arrest report, officers responded to the domestic call in Mississippi County the evening of Jan. 24. A deputy was dispatched to determine the nature of the dispute, which was not articulated in the report. It was confirmed that the deputy met with the accused man outside of the family home.
The report goes on to say that the deputy determined the man had assaulted both his wife and his two stepchildren, whose ages were not recorded in the report. The deputy arrested the man and took him into custody, charging him with two counts of second-degree domestic assault and one count of third-degree domestic assault. He was taken to a local detention center, where his bail has been set at $25,000.
There were not enough details included in this report to make an accurate guess at the outcome of this case. Missouri prosecutors will have to verify the deputy’s claims that a domestic assault did take place, likely through the use of witnesses in the form of the wife and possibly also the stepchildren, depending upon their ages. The defense may wish to cross-examine these witnesses and review the arrest record to determine whether the accused man’s constitutional rights were observed.
Source: kfvs12.com, “East Prairie man accused of domestic assault“, Amber Ruch, Jan. 27, 2015