Suspended sentences granted Monett man in hunting incident

Jeff Lehr, The Joplin Globe, Mo.
·2 min read

Jan. 9—MOUNT VERNON, Mo. — A 39-year-old defendant convicted of firearm and drug charges stemming from a deer hunting incident received suspended sentences this week and was placed on probation.

Darren R. Essary, of Monett, entered an Alford plea Monday in Lawrence County Circuit Court on felony counts of aiding or abetting the discharge of a firearm from a motor vehicle, unlawful possession of a firearm, attempted unlawful possession of a firearm and possession of a controlled substance.

An Alford plea admits no guilt but acknowledges the likelihood of a conviction if the matter were to proceed to trial.

Essary entered the pleas under an agreement with the Lawrence County prosecutor's office that called for suspended sentences and dismissal of three related misdemeanors: attempting to take a deer without a permit, attempting to take wildlife from a motor vehicle and failure to wear orange while hunting during deer season.

Circuit Judge David Cole accepted the plea deal and assessed Essary terms of 10 years on the shooting from a vehicle charge and four years each on the firearm and drug counts with execution of the sentences suspended and the defendant placed on supervised probation for five years. The judge also ordered that he complete 160 hours of community service.

The defendant was charged in November 2022 following an incident in which a man tracking a deer in a rural portion of Lawrence County reported a shot being fired in his direction by occupants of an SUV, one of whom he knew to be Essary.

A state conservation agent later stopped the vehicle on U.S. Highway 60 and was told by its driver that Essary had shot at a deer from the passenger seat of the SUV. Because Essary had prior felony convictions and was prohibited from possessing firearms, a search warrant was served at his residence, and a pistol, ammunition and a pipe with methamphetamine residue were seized.

The defendant subsequently took the agent to a second residence where the rifle he had fired was being kept, according to a probable-cause affidavit filed in the case.