A man accused of stabbing at a Joplin police officer with a machete pleaded guilty Monday to felony assault on a law enforcement officer.
Patrick S. Smith, 22, of Webb City, pleaded guilty in Jasper County Circuit Court when the prosecutor’s office agreed to reduce the charge to a Class C felony from a Class B felony and to drop a second count of felony possession of marijuana.
Smith was arrested Aug. 6 of last year when officers responded to a report of a burglary in progress inside an apartment house at 1930 E. 20th St. Neighbors reported hearing someone breaking things inside the apartment of an occupant who was at work.
A probable-cause affidavit states that police officer John Hobson was walking to the rear of the apartment house when he shone a flashlight through a partially broken window and announced the presence of police. Eliciting no response from inside, he started to walk past the window when an object was shoved through the window, nearly striking him in the face. The affidavit states that broken pieces of glass showered Hobson as he passed the window.
Smith was found inside the apartment in the bedroom with the broken window. The affidavit states that he told police that he was high on drugs and that he had tried to stab the person walking past the window with a machete. A bag containing 51 grams of marijuana and some drug paraphernalia reportedly were found in plain view inside the apartment.
Circuit Judge Gayle Crane ordered the completion of a sentencing-assessment report and set sentencing for April 12.
Under terms of the plea bargain, Smith could receive up to seven years in prison for the conviction. He was facing five to 15 years under the original Class B felony charge. No charge was filed in connection with any burglary at the address.
