Assault charge against Jason Marsh is dropped, prosecutor sites Castle Doctrine

Ozark County Prosecutor Matthew Weatherman has dismissed a case against Bakersfield resident Jason Marsh, clearing him of the class D felony charge of assault of a special victim that was filed as a result of an Ozark County grand jury indictment in August. 

The case revolves around an incident on Feb. 21 in which Marsh and another man, identified by the initials W.S. in the complaint, engaged in a physical altercation on Marsh’s property. The man is listed as “over the age of 60,” in court documents, which classified him as a special victim in the indictment. 

Dismissal of charges

Weatherman said the dismissal comes as a result of Missouri’s “Castle Doctrine,” a set of laws listed under Missouri Revised Statute 563.031. The Castle Doctrine, sometimes referred to as the “stand your ground law,” is based on the premises that a resident’s home and property is their castle and they have a right to protect themselves or others in it. 

“Based upon a review of the evidence and legal research of the law surrounding issue of Castle Doctrine and the right to defend oneself on land one owns, I determined that I could not ethically continue prosecution of a case that I believe would not result in a conviction,” Weatherman told the Times last week after dismissing the case. 

Marsh said he is thankful for the dismissal and ready for the whole situation to be over with. He told the Times that the allegations that led to the indictment being filed against him were slanderous and have caused a lot of stress to his family and damage to his reputation. 

“Missouri is a right-to-protect state, and when another man comes onto my property and starts a fight with me, then I have a right by law to protect myself,” he told the Times. “I feel like this whole process has been unfair to me and my family, and I hope that no one else has to endure the things we have went through… and all because I chose to defend myself on my own property.” 

Original allegations

The original court documents said that the older man in the case told officers that he’d went to Marsh to discuss the possibility of purchasing a piece of property that adjoined his property, and while holding a survey map, Marsh knocked the map out of his hands. The man said when he bent down to pick the map up, Marsh hit him in the eye and continued to punch him.

When questioned about the incident, Marsh told the sheriff that the man had come onto his property where he was bulldozing, and the man told him that he owned a portion of the property that adjoins Marsh’s land. Marsh said he and the man argued back and forth about the ownership of the land. He said during the course of that argument, the man shoved him to the ground. Marsh said he got back up and shoved the man back, and the man fell to the ground. Marsh said the man then picked up a stick and hit him in the head with it. Marsh said he then punched the man, who afterward got back up. He said they argued more, and Marsh shoved him one more time. The man reportedly got back up and told Marsh he “was going to jail.” 

The older man reportedly denied to officers engaging in the physical altercation.