A Carthage man was ordered bound over for trail on a felony assault charge Wednesday in Jasper County Circuit Court in Joplin.
Associate Judge Richard Copeland found probable cause for Casey A. Gouge, 28, to stand trial on a charge of first-degree assault. The judge set Nov. 30 for the defendant’s initial appearance in a trial division of the court.
Jamey Danner testified during the hearing that Gouge hit him with a baseball bat during a confrontation Aug. 31 on the porch of Danner’s home at 610 S. Orner St. in Carthage.
“He came over drunk and started some stuff,” Danner told the court.
Danner said the confrontation was preceded by a phone conversation during which he warned Gouge to stay away from his house. Danner said Gouge showed up anyway with another man, and he met them at his front door with a baseball bat.
He said that as they grabbed at the bat, he used it to push both of them back off the porch, and Gouge gained control of the bat. Danner said he ushered his wife and dog back inside their home and started to retreat there himself when he was struck in the side of his head with the bat.
On cross-examination by public defender Erin Graf, Danner said he did not recall what the argument between the two men concerned. He also testified that he did not know the man who was with Gouge. He denied going after Gouge after the blow to his head.
“No, after I got hit with the bat, he took off,” Danner said.
