Joplin man receives probation in plea deal on domestic assault charge
Jun. 4—A 31-year-old defendant was granted a suspended sentence and probation when he pleaded guilty Thursday to a reduced charge in a felony domestic assault case.
Thomas Calhoun, of Joplin, pleaded guilty in Jasper County Circuit Court to a misdemeanor count of domestic assault in a plea deal. He had been facing a count of second-degree domestic assault from an April 28 incident involving his girlfriend.
Calhoun was sentenced by Associate Judge Joe Hensley to six months in jail, with execution of the sentence suspended and the defendant placed on unsupervised probation for one year. While on probation, he is required to complete a class on alternatives to violence.
A probable-cause affidavit filed in the case alleged that Calhoun put his hands around his girlfriend's neck and choked her during a domestic dispute.
