Photo: Jonathan W. Latham
A Gainesville man found guilty of first-degree property damage in late October, after just 18 minutes of jury deliberations, was back in court earlier this month for sentencing.
The Ozark County Times reports 48-year-old Jonathan W. Latham received the maximum sentence allowed under Missouri law in two cases dating back to 2016. Wright County Associate Judge Lynette Veenstra sentenced Latham to seven years in the Missouri Department of Corrections on the Class E felony.
The case is in connection with an April 2016 incident in which Latham reportedly bulldozed a manufactured home and burned it, along with a John Deere tractor. The property was part of the estate of Latham’s uncle, the late Jerry W. Latham and had been transferred to his widow, Judy Latham, after his death.
The charge involving the destruction of the home was dismissed by the judge due to statute of time limitations, but on the charge related to destroying the tractor, Latham was convicted by an Ozark County jury.
The range of punishment for a Class E felony is generally up to four years in prison; however, Latham was sentenced as a prior and persistent offender, meaning the range of punishment is elevated to that of a Class D felony.
The second case, in which Latham was convicted of damage to jail property, stems from his alleged actions in May 2016, when, in a fit of rage, he ripped a TV from the wall of the Ozark County jail, destroyed an overhead light and damaged a smoke detector.
In that case, in which Latham pleaded guilty Aug. 16 to the Class E felony of damage to jail property, Veenstra sentenced him to four years in prison, the harshest punishment allowed for that charge.
Both sentences are to be served at the same time. Because the two charges will be served concurrently for a total of seven years, Ozark County Prosecuting Attorney John Garrabrant chose not to charge Latham as a prior and persistent offender in the charge of damage to jail property. Veenstra was presiding in the cases due to a conflict with Circuit Judge Craig Carter.
In addition to those 2016 cases, Latham is facing three new charges, one of which, a first-degree domestic assault charge, could earn him life in prison.
In the first of those two new cases, Latham was charged Nov. 19 with first-degree domestic assault.
According to the probable cause statement in the case, the alleged assault resulted in the victim sustaining bruises to her face, both arms, torso, back, both legs and both feet; two fractured ribs and multiple nasal fractures; a concussion; hemorrhaging in both eyes; an inner ear injury and abrasions to the top of her feet and her spine that “are consistent with dragging.”
An individual who reportedly arrived at the home sometime after the alleged assault told authorities there were puddles of blood on the floor, blood stains on the bedding and smeared blood on the walls of the dwelling.
The victim was later transported to Baxter Regional Medical Center, where she told emergency room personnel the injuries were the result of a domestic assault.
First-degree domestic assault is usually classified as a Class B felony. However, because Latham is charged as a prior and persistent offender, he could be sentenced as if it were a Class A felony, an offense requiring a sentence of 10 to 30 years in prison or life imprisonment. The sentence is the harshest punishment available under Missouri law besides the death penalty.
Latham was arraigned Nov. 26 in that case.
In the newest case, Latham was arraigned Dec. 5 on charges of possession of methamphetamine and unlawful possession of a weapon (possessing a weapon and a felony-level controlled substance). He was charged as a prior and persistent offender in that case also, meaning his sentencing will be elevated one class higher than the charges normally allow.
The case was filed after an Ozark County deputy arrested Latham on a felony warrant on the afternoon of Nov. 19, the same day the domestic assault charges were filed.
When Latham was booked into the Ozark County jail on the warrant arrest, officers reportedly found a plastic bag with a rolled dollar bill and a white crystal substance field testing positive for methamphetamine.
While the deputy transported Latham to the jail, the Gainesville man reportedly told the officer his truck was stuck in a mud hole near the lake at Tecumseh. After the Gainesville man reportedly told the deputy where to find the truck, officers contacted the co-owner, who gave consent to search the vehicle, recover it and return it to the Latham household.
Officers reportedly found the truck with all four windows down and a key in the center console. Deputies searched the vehicle and found a scoped rifle in the truck beds toolbox. The gun had three cartridges loaded in the magazine, and additional ammunition was recovered in the console of the vehicle. Because Latham is a convicted felon, it is illegal for him to possess a weapon.
Latham is incarcerated in the Missouri Department of Corrections in connection with a parole violation filed earlier this month in a separate case where he pleaded guilty to property damage in July 2015.
The underlying allegations in that case involve an October 2014 incident in which Latham drove a bulldozer, while drunk, on County Road 308, significantly damaging the roadway, hitting a tree and telephone pole and initiating a power outage in the area.
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