A Jasper County judge on Thursday dismissed two felony counts against a 52-year-old man stemming from a domestic disturbance in August.
At a hearing in Jasper County Circuit Court in Joplin, Associate Judge Richard Copeland dismissed charges of second-degree domestic assault and armed criminal action that Michael Johnson, 1120 S. Waggoner Ave., was facing.
Johnson was scheduled to have a preliminary hearing on the charges, but the alleged victim failed to show up to testify against him for a third time. Assistant Prosecutor Jeremy Crowley asked for another continuance, but defense attorney Brian Glades requested that the charges against his client be dismissed, and the judge agreed.
The defendant was accused of punching his girlfriend in the face and head, and choking her to the point of her being unable to breathe Aug. 6 at his home, according to a probable-cause affidavit. The woman told police that as she got away from Johnson and fled, he pulled out a handgun and fired at least one shot in an unspecified direction, the affidavit said.
