Man charged after incident with two women, one who was 37 weeks pregnant

Kenneth Cowart, 25, of Gainesville, is scheduled to appear in court today for a bond reduction hearing before Associate Judge Raymond Gross in a case in which he’s charged with two class E felonies of assault and domestic assault. 

He was arrested Aug. 29 and has been held in jail without bond since that time. Results of the bond reduction hearing were not available at presstime. 

According to the probable cause statement filed in the case by Ozark County Sheriff’s Lt. Matt Rhoades, at 5:30 p.m. Aug. 17 he was assigned to a report of an assault. The report says that Cowart arrived unannounced to the victim’s house to attempt to get some of his personal items. He and the victim have been in a relationship on-and-off for two years and have since separated, Rhoades clarified. 

The victim said that Cowart was attempting to reconcile the relationship, but she said she didn’t want to talk about it. She then told him to leave, she said. Another woman who was there overheard the conversation and also reportedly told him to leave. In response, they said, he pushed the woman out of the bedroom. Cowart’s ex said she was calling 911, and he reportedly took her phone to prevent the call. When the second woman threatened to call 911, Cowart reportedly attempted to take her phone also.

Both women said they went into the bathroom and attempted to lock him out, but he rammed the door causing a 5-inch abrasion to the ex’s forearm. The altercation continued in the living room, where the women say Cowart knocked the ex onto a couch and the other woman onto the ground and got on top of her in order to get the phone. 

The ex reportedly punched him in the left eye to get him away from them, the report says. He then left. 

Rhoades interviewed Cowart the next day, and he had a similar story as the women, the report says.

“...but he stated he wasn’t trying to harm them or prevent them from calling 911, he only tried to take the phones so they could talk without interruption.”

The victims desired prosecution. The other woman, not the ex-girlfriend, was 37 weeks pregnant at the time of the incident, the report says, making her a vulnerable person.