Charges dismissed in two felony domestic assault cases

Apr. 23—The Jasper County prosecutor's office recently dismissed two defendants' felony domestic assault charges, citing a lack of cooperation on the part of their alleged victims.

Anthony C. Owings, 28, of rural Webb City, was scheduled for a preliminary hearing Thursday of last week in Jasper County Circuit Court on a charge of second-degree domestic assault. Instead, the charges were dismissed upon the prosecution's announcement that they could not proceed with the case without the victim's testimony.

Owings was arrested on the charge following a domestic disturbance April 8 at the defendant's home on Ivy Road. The defendant purportedly put his wife in a headlock, causing her to pass out, and then choked her, bit her ear and shoved her into a counter when she regained consciousness, according to a probable-cause affidavit.

Two counts of second-degree domestic assault that had been filed on Shannon D. Stewart, 51, following a domestic disturbance Dec. 17 at his residence on Minnesota Avenue in Joplin, also were dismissed Thursday in light of the alleged victim's refusal to pursue the matter.

Stewart was accused of hitting his girlfriend in the back of her head with a wooden chair, punching her in the face several times with his fist and slamming her head on the floor several times, according to a probable-cause affidavit. He denied hitting her with the chair and claimed he punched her in the nose only after she punched him in the mouth, according to the affidavit.

Jeff Lehr is a reporter for The Joplin Globe.