Woman calls cops after man hits her in the head with a baseball bat, officers find meth on suspect

Michael Renne, 44, of Tecumseh, was released on his own recognizance with supervision by Court Probationary Services during a March 18 hearing before Associate Judge Raymond Gross in connection with a case in which he’s charged with domestic assault, armed criminal action and possession of methamphetamine and unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia for methamphetamine. He was originally arrested March 10 and held in custody until his release Monday.

According to the probable cause statement filed in the case by Ozark County Deputy Josh Sherman, on March 9, 2024, he responded to Renne’s residence after a woman reported a domestic assault. 

The woman told officers that Renne had struck her in the head with a baseball bat a few times, and he also hit her with his hands when he cornered her in a bathroom. 

Sherman wrote that he observed scratch marks on her arms, which were reported to have occurred as a defensive mark from the attack. 

“There was broken glass in the same corner she was attacked in which was all over the floor in that area. The baseball bat was located which matched the description that [the woman] provided as Michael Renne was able to lead me directly to where he placed it in the residence,” Sherman’s report says. 

The officer noted that Renne was sweating despite it being cold weather. “With his prior criminal drug past, I asked if there were drugs  and/or paraphernalia in the residence. Michael, voluntarily and consensually, provided me with a silver container that contained a digital scale along with a few glass smoking pipes that had a white crystal-like substance on them that, through my training and experience, I recognized as methamphetamine. The items also field-tested positive for methamphetamine.”