An Ozark County man, 33-year-old Stephen Shaw of Gainesville, has been arrested following an incident in which he is alleged to have demanded all of a neighbor’s drugs before striking him in the head with a large stick and stealing several items from his home.
The Ozark County Times reports Shaw is facing felony charges of first-degree robbery, second-degree assault and two counts of armed criminal action in connection with the incident on July 2nd.
Shaw is currently in the Missouri Department of Corrections on other charges and is scheduled to return to Gainesville for a September 11th court appearance.
According to the charging document in the case, officers were dispatched to a home on Hillside Drive in Gainesville after the resident of the home told a dispatcher Shaw had broken into his residence and assaulted him.
Ozark County Sheriff’s deputies responding to the call reportedly asked Shaw if he had had an argument with his neighbor. According to the statement, Shaw is alleged to have said he was tired of all these meth addicts.
When asked if the argument had escalated into an altercation, Shaw reportedly said he told his neighbor if he has some meth, he needs to give it to him or he was going to slap him.
The neighbor reporting the incident told officers Shaw brought a large stick and struck him across the face with it near his mouth. The law enforcement report notes the neighbor had an obvious contusion on his left jaw, and a piece of a broken stick was lying on the floor next to the chair.
The man said Shaw kicked in the side door to his home and kept saying, “Give me all your drugs.”
Then Shaw allegedly stole the neighbors prescription medication off the table and other belongings off a chair, threatened him and broke several DVDs and CDs.
When the officers returned to Shaws residence, they saw another part of the broken stick on a mattress in the living room. The stick was consistent with the one used during the incident.
Shaw’s cash-only bond was set at $20,000.
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