Caulfield man charged with holding wife and 9-year-old boy at gunpoint

Barry Scott Brown, 54, of Caulfield is currently being held in the Ozark County Jail on a $100,000 cash-only bond after allegedly holding his wife at gunpoint with a shotgun and holding her 9-year-old son at gunpoint with an “Uzi-type firearm.” Brown also reportedly discharged the shotgun once inside the house while the woman and boy were there.
Brown is charged with three felony counts including unlawful use of a weapon – exhibiting, endangering the welfare of a child creating a substantial risk and armed criminal action in connection with the incident. He was scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday before Associate Judge Cynthia MacPherson. Details of the court appearance were not available at press time.

The allegations
According to the probable cause statement written by Ozark County Chief Deputy Winston Collins, a dispatcher received a call at 9:21 a.m. April 19 about a person holding a woman and a child at gunpoint at a Caulfield residence. While Collins was en route toward the home, a dispatcher contacted him by radio and said the victims had left the residence and would meet him at Highways V and 160. When Collins arrived, Brown’s wife, her 9-year-old son and another individual were waiting, the statement says. The woman reportedly told the officer that Brown had left the residence and was traveling toward West Plain in a blue Toyota RAV4 with an “Uzi-type firearm with a silencer” in his possession, according to the report.

Stopped in West Plains
Ozark County Sheriff Darrin Reed notified the West Plains Police Department of the situation, and shortly afterward WPPD called the Ozark County officers to inform them that they had stopped Brown in his vehicle.
Collins and Reed drove to the scene, where West Plains officer Brandon Romans had Brown pulled over for a traffic stop. When the officers arrived, Romans told Collins and Reed that Brown had three firearms in the vehicle, two semi-automatic pistols and an Uzi-type firearm with a large suppressor. Romans said Barry had reportedly held another individual at gunpoint at a gas station in West Plains. Collins seized the Uzi-type firearm for evidence. The gun, which was later identified as an M-11 9mm, was loaded with a live round in the chamber and a magazine of unknown quantity of ammunition, the statement says. The West Plains Police Department secured the other two firearms for safekeeping.

Brown’s story and the victim’s story
Brown was placed under arrest and transported to the Ozark County Jail. He reportedly made “several admissions” about firing a gun the night before and told the officers he had popped off a few rounds that morning. Brown acknowledged that he had threatened his wife with a gun when she wouldn’t leave the residence, the statement says.
After Brown had been arrested, the officers spoke with his wife again, the statement says. She reportedly told the officers that the previous night, on April 18, Brown pointed the “Uzi” at her 9-year-old son and pointed a shotgun at her. The woman said during the heat of the incident, Brown actually discharged the shotgun inside the house while both she and her son were there. The woman said the boy was frightened and crying.
Brown was interviewed by officers at 1:44 p.m. April 19 at the Ozark County Jail. He reportedly made several admissions throughout the interview, including telling officers that he shot his “scatter gun” (referring to a shotgun) at his computer during a group conversation between himself, his wife and his wife’s relatives. Collins writes in the report that he perceived Brown to mean that the conversation was a video conference communication via a computer screen.

Returning to the scene of the crime
After the interview with Brown, Collins went to the residence where the incident reportedly occurred. Collins writes in the report that he saw numerous firearms and ammunition throughout the common area of the residence. A resident of the home who was there when Collins arrived reportedly showed the officer the shotgun that was used to shoot a computer, television and window inside the home. The shotgun was identified as a 12-gauge TTN International Model 1878 double-barreled shotgun. It was loaded with two live rounds, the report says. Collins unloaded the firearm and seized it as evidence. He also photographed the computer, television and window that had been shot. He also found ammunition on the flood, and loaded AR-15 magazines and rifles stacked against the wall with pistols on the couch arm. The ammunition was in the form of bags, boxes and loaded magazines.