Charge dismissed in stabbing case
Mar. 3—A felony assault charge against a rural Carl Junction man accused of stabbing a roommate with poultry shears was dismissed this week in Jasper County Circuit Court.
Charles E. Hughes, 51, was scheduled to have a preliminary Thursday on a charge of second-degree domestic assault. The prosecutor's office dismissed the charge instead, citing a lack of cooperation on the part of the victim, a man who had been staying in Hughes' home on County Lane 289.
Sheriff's deputies were called to that residence the morning of Oct. 8 when Hughes purportedly became upset at the roommate for using a portable heater and some blankets to keep himself and his two children warm.
A probable-cause affidavit stated that Hughes shoved the roommate several times when he tried to reason with him, and a fight ensued in which Hughes grabbed a pair of "chicken shears" and stabbed the roommate in the stomach.
Jeff Lehr is a reporter for The Joplin Globe.