Domestic assault case

Jason Duke, 44, of Pontiac, has been charged with domestic assault, in connection with an altercation occurring last Saturday, Aug. 23. 

According to the probable cause statement, prepared by Ozark County Deputy Josh Sherman, the OCSD dispatch office received a report of a domestic assault in progress at a home off W Highway in Pontiac around 8:13 p.m. Aug. 23. 

The dispatcher said there was yelling in the background, and the victim believed she may have suffered a broken leg as a result of the assault. When Sherman arrived on scene, he spoke with the woman, who he said had red marks on both sides of her throat that were “notably red,” along with bright red marks on her upper torso and a slightly swollen bottom lip with dried blood on it. 

She said she and Jason had gotten into a disagreement, and he threw a phone at her, hitting her in her lip. As the altercation escalated, she said he wrapped his hands around her throat and choked her, pushed her against the bathroom wall and then into the bathtub. She told the officer that she “thought she was going to die,” and she wanted to pursue charges. After being read his Miranda rights, Jason reportedly admitted to putting his hands on the woman’s throat, the report says.

Medical personnel tended to the woman, assessing her injuries. The charging document in the case said in addition to the red marks and busted lip, she also sustained a sprained knee as a result of the altercation. 

Duke was arrested that night and remains in the Ozark County Jail without bond. He’s scheduled to return to court for a bond reduction hearing at 8:30 a.m. Friday, Aug. 29, before Associate Judge Raymond Gross.