Steven Howell of rural Mountain Home, who struck his wife in the head with a Bible and threatened her father with a large kitchen knife, pled guilty to charges against him stemming from the incident — including aggravated assault — and was given five years probation.
His change of plea came during a session of Baxter County Circuit Court Thursday.
Both victims had told prosecutors they preferred charges not be brought against Howell.
Baxter County deputies and Norfork police were dispatched to an address along County Road 202 in the Norfork area on March 15th in response to a domestic disturbance report. When the first officer arrived, he saw Howell standing on the front porch of the residence holding a Bible and was reported “hollering and screaming.”
Victims and witnesses reported the 41-year-old Howell had allegedly assaulted his wife and chased her down the road. She called for help and her father came to the scene. Howell was reported to have gone into the residence, retrieved a knife, come back outside brandishing the weapon in what was described as an “aggressive manner” and threatened to kill the father.
The deputy sheriff and Norfork policeman attempted to take Howell into custody, but he resisted the officers and “appeared to be under the influence of some type of controlled substance,” according to a news release put out at the time by Baxter County Sheriff John Montgomery.
Howell had to be forced into the back of a patrol unit and continued to scream “Jesus was coming to take him away”. Instead, a deputy took him to the Baxter County Detention Center.
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