Convicted felon caught with shotgun

Chaz B. Brock, 39, of Gainesville, is scheduled to appear in Ozark County Court for a preliminary hearing at 1:30 p.m. Dec. 10, before Associate Judge Raymond Gross. He is represented by Public Defender Chase Opolka. 

According to the probable cause statement, prepared by Ozark County Deputy Josh Sherman, he and fellow Deputy Jeff Lane attempted to conduct a warrant arrest for someone else at a camper trailer on T Highway. 

When they arrived, the door to the camper was opened with a sheet hanging over it. The officers knocked, and nobody responded. They entered the trailer to ensure the suspect they were there to arrest was not hiding from law enforcement, as that suspect had been designated as an absconder at that time. When they entered, they saw a single barrel Harrington & Richardson 20-gauge shotgun leaning against the wall. They also found four 20-gauge buckshot 2 3/4-inch Monarch cartridges. 

The officers cleared the residence, and no one was inside. 

The officers then spoke with a neighbor who lives on the same property and is referred to as a “mother figure” to Brock and his girlfriend. She said she hadn’t seen him in a few months or “since summer.” They told her they were going to stay on scene for a little while and may have some more questions for her. She reportedly came back a little while later and said that Brock would be coming home as soon as his girlfriend picked him up from his job in Arkansas. 

When they arrived, Brock was driving, although he does not have a valid driver’s license in Missouri, the report says. Sherman told them who they were looking for, and the woman reportedly said that the person was there about a month earlier but hadn’t been back as he said he was going to court to handle his warrants (which he clearly had not done). Sherman told the couple why he’d entered the home and that he had seen the shotgun sitting against the wall in plain sight. He said he knew both Brock and his girlfriend were being supervised by probation and parole, and therefore not allowed to have a firearm. He further said that Brock was a convicted felon, and not legally allowed to possess the gun. 

Brock said he was cleaning and fixing the shotgun for the neighbor and had it for a few days. When he was asked what needed to be fixed, he told the officers that the gun had “gunk” in the barrel, which caused issues ejecting rounds. Sherman handed the gun to Lane, who ejected the round easily without resistance. The officers noted they did not see the gunk that Brock was speaking of. 

Because Brock is a convicted felon, he was charged with the class E felony of unlawful possession of a firearm.