OCSD aids in Ava neighborly feud turned to gunfire, explosive device found
The Ozark County Sheriff’s Department recently brought its armored humvee to a residence in Ava at the request of the Douglas County Sheriff’s Department after its dispatch office received a report of shots being fired from a residence into a neighboring residence. Before officers left the scene, an explosive device was found that was large enough to cause fatalities.
The call to the DCSO and resulting call to MJTF
According to a post to the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page, the dispatch office there received a call at 11 p.m. last Monday, July 17. The reporting party told a dispatcher that suspects on County Road 529 had fired multiple shots at a neighbor’s house with several rounds hitting the house. The gunfire was the result of a heated and ongoing feud between the neighbors.
Douglas County Sheriff Chris Degase and his deputies responded to an area near the residence. When they arrived on scene, the officers heard the male suspect, Bettis, yelling.
Degase was familiar with the man from previous calls and incidents, and because of the nature of those interactions, he deployed the multi-jurisdictional task force (MJTF), a large group of officers from neighboring areas who work together on various calls and investigations.
Ozark County Sheriff Cass Martin and his deputies responded with an armored vehicle. Officers with the Ava Police Department also responded, along with the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office drone operator who assisted with surveillance from the air.
Successful negotiations
The team surrounded the residence and Douglas County Cpl. Nelson and Deputy Martin took over negotiations with Bettis and his girlfriend Tabitha Medlock, who also lives on the property. The officers worked to get the couple out of the house.
At approximately 1:47 a.m., about three hours after the original call of the shooting came in, both Bettis and Medlock exited the residence and were taken into custody without incident.
“Sheriff Degase would like to commend Cpl. Nelson and Deputy Greg Martin for their excellent negotiation tactics as they maintained constant communication with the duo,” the post said.
An unexpected find
As officers were conducting a sweep of the residence to ensure that there was no one else was inside the home, Degase located an explosive device. Everyone was evacuated from the structure, and the ATF (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives), FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) and the Springfield Bomb Squad were contacted to assist with the dismantling of the explosive device.
Degase and several deputies remained on scene throughout the night. Degase applied for a search warrant, and it was granted.
Successful negotiations
The ATF, FBI and Springfield Bomb Squad arrived on scene at approximately 9 a.m. the next morning, July 18.
The bomb squad located an explosive device they described as being large enough to cause serious injury or death, according to Degase. The explosive device was dismantled and rendered safe, and the Springfield Bomb Squad assisted a Douglas County Sheriff’s detective with packaging the items as evidence.
Arrested and held in jail
Joshua Bettis was arrested on a warrant with a $100,000 cash-only bond. If he is able to make bail, he will be required to wear a GPS-tracking ankle monitor. He is charged with three counts of felony first-degree assault, three counts of armed criminal action, unlawful use of a weapon (discharging a firearm into a home) and unlawful possession of an illegal weapon.
Tabitha Medlock was arrested on a $10,000 cash-only bond. She is charged with unlawful possession of an illegal weapon.
The online court record in Medlock’s case also notes, “No contact with Rogan Nelms, Peter Bradley, Tim Glover or their properties. GPS required before release. No weapons, ammo, powder, fuses or ammonia nitrate. Given past history [of Tabitha Medlock], no posting of any images of persons in this case, including the confidential victims, the prosecuting attorney, law enforcement or court personnel, their property, their names or family member names, their vehicles on any social media including you tube, tic tok, etc. CPS to monitor social media accounts.”
They were both arraigned July 20 in Douglas County Court and are scheduled to reappear Friday for a bond reduction hearing before Associate Judge Elizabeth Bock.