Man who broke jaw of MSHP officer gets maximum sentence

During an April 20 hearing at the Douglas County Courthouse, Jordan Haden of Mountain Home, Arkansas, was sentenced by Associate Judge Elizabeth Bock to the maximum possible sentences, a total of 15 years in the Missouri Department of Corrections, for his conviction in a case in which he hit a Missouri State Highway Patrol trooper in the face, breaking his jaw and causing other injuries. The incident happened during a traffic stop in Gainesville. 

Haden, who has been in custody for two years awaiting trial for this case and others, appeared with his attorney, Missouri Public Defender Yvette Renee Duvall. Ozark County Prosecuting Attorney John Garrabrant appeared on behalf of the state. 

The sentencing hearing lasted more than four hours as a substantial amount of evidence was presented. The victim and his wife, also a MSHP Trooper, were present. 

 

Sentenced to the max

Bock sentenced Haden to 15 years on the charge of second-degree assault on a special victim, the maximum sentence allowed under the class B felony. She then sentenced him to four years in prison for the charge of resisting arrest for a felony, also the maximum allowed under that charge, a class E felony. The two sentences are to run concurrently, meaning at the same time, for a total of 15 years. 

Because the assault charge is considered a dangerous felony, Haden will be required to serve at least 85 percent of that sentence, meaning he will be incarcerated for at least 12 and a half years before he is eligible for parole. 

Inmates who are sentenced to Missouri DoC who are convicted of nonviolent crimes are eligible for parole after they’ve served as little as 15 percent of their sentence.

 

 Found guilty

Haden was found guilty by a Wright County jury on Friday, Dec. 4, 2020, of second-degree assault of a special victim and resisting arrest. 

The conviction stems from a Dec. 2, 2017, Ozark County incident in which Haden reportedly punched MSHP Cpl. Daniel Johnson in the face, breaking his jaw in two places and causing a “closed brain injury,” according to court documents. 

The case was transferred from Ozark County to Wright County on a change of venue motion in May 2019. 

Haden was originally charged with a higher level, class A felony charge of first-degree assault of the MSHP Trooper. The jury did not find proof of evidence to meet the first-degree conviction and instead chose to find Haden guilty of second-degree assault.

If he had been convicted of the class A felony, his sentencing range would have been between 10 and 30 years. 

 

Details of the case

According to court documents, Johnson has undergone two surgeries on his jaw and has had extensive therapy for the brain injury. 

Johnson wrote in the probable cause statement that his jaw was wired shut for eight weeks, and the way his jaw healed caused his teeth to align incorrectly. As a result, he is undergoing 18 to 24 months of orthodontic treatment. Johnson also said in the statement that he has constant tinnitus in his left ear and several numb teeth on the left side of his jaw that cannot be repaired. 

According to the probable cause statement filed in the case, Johnson stopped Haden at 11:45 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 2, 2017, after seeing that he did not have a front license plate and that his rear license plate was homemade. Johnson pulled in front of Haden’s vehicle as he was parking on the south side of The Antler restaurant in Gainesville, the report says.

As Johnson questioned Haden about the Missouri temporary tag in his car window, which had a handwritten configuration of letters and numbers that was inconsistent with normal temporary tags, Johnson reportedly smelled alcohol and noticed that Haden’s eyes were bloodshot, the report says. He asked Haden to submit to a variety of sobriety tests. 

Haden disregarded Johnson’s instructions in “an attempt to thwart their efficiency,” Johnson wrote, and he told Haden he was placing him under arrest. 

The officer had turned away from Haden to stow a Breathalyzer in his patrol vehicle when Haden allegedly struck him in the left side of the face and ran from the officer. 

Johnson pursued him on foot and deployed his taser, the statement says. Haden fell to the ground and tauntingly told the officer to place him in handcuffs. Johnson, who was injured, decided to wait for another officer to arrive at the scene. Seeing that Haden was attempting to remove the taser probe, Johnson wrote that he knew removing the probe would allow Haden to run again, so he attempted to tase him again. However, Haden was able to get up, and he started to run away.

The officer reportedly sprayed pepper spray in Haden’s face, but Haden continued to run and attempted to get into his vehicle, opening the driver’s door before Johnson was able to grab him and pull him back.

MSHP Sgt. C. A. Hogue arrived on scene and placed Haden under arrest, and he was transported to the Ozark County Jail. Haden refused to provide a breath sample for alcohol testing. 

After booking the suspect into the jail, officers discovered that Haden had several outstanding warrants, including in a felony rape case from Kansas, two Platte County warrants for failure to appear in court, one warrant issued by the Springfield Police Department for driving while intoxicated, and an Ozark County warrant for driving while intoxicated, speeding and driving with a revoked license. 

Ozark County Times

504 Third Steet
PO Box 188
Gainesville, MO 65655

Phone: (417) 679-4641
Fax: (417) 679-3423