Man with violent record rams car with girlfriend in it - then she fires pistol back

Timothy Kyle Sprague, 34, of Gainesville, was arrested Nov. 27 and held without bond in connection with charges of domestic assault in two separate cases involving two alleged incidents against his girlfriend of two years.

According to the probable cause statement filed in the most recent case by Ozark County Sheriff’s Lt. Matt Rhoades, at 4:35 p.m. Nov. 25, the OCSD dispatch office received a call about a reported domestic violence situation in progress at the suspect’s residence in Gainesville. 

As Rhoades made his way north on Highway 181 to the suspect’s home, he passed the victim driving a vehicle going south on Highway 181. The officer turned around and made contact with the woman. 

The woman reportedly said that Sprague, who she had been dating, was angry with her for not wanting to go to Springfield. The woman said she was afraid and got into her vehicle and locked the doors, as Sprague has assaulted her in the past and threatened to harm her. 

She said Sprague then began beating the vehicle with her inside. “…he kicked both the passenger and driver side  doors and left shoe marks in the dust of the car. He ripped the driver side windshield wiper off the wiper arm, which was still in the upright position. He then got into his truck, backed up behind her vehicle and rammed it from behind, pushing her vehicle forwards causing significant damage to the rear quarter panel of the car,” the report says. 

The woman said she believed Sprague was going to kill her if he could get to her. 

She took out a .22LR pistol, which she possessed legally the report says, and fired three shots in self-defense through her rear passenger window into the suspect’s truck which was blocking the driveway, preventing her from leaving. 

The report says that Sprague then peeled out of the driveway, heading east on Highway 181. He called the sheriff’s department dispatch office to report that he had been shot at and was near his residence.

“After conducting an investigation of the available evidence, the shot alignment, tire tracks, wiper blade in the driveway and several other pieces of evidence, I determined that the victim’s statement most aligned with the evidence available… I arrested the suspect and booked him into jail,” Rhoades’s report says. 

The other case that was filed involved an Aug. 23 incident, which Rhoades also investigated. In that case, the officer said he was assigned to the case around 9:30 p.m. Aug. 23, after a report of an assault was filed. 

“The victim lives with the suspect at his house. They got into an argument about forgetfulness, and the victim decided to leave because [Sprague] was becoming angry. 

“As she tried to leave his garage, he approached her from behind and pushed her against the garage door. He put his right arm around her neck to put her in a choke hold, injuring her lower lip and chin in the process. He then pulled her to the ground and mounted her from behind. He grabbed her neck from behind and started choking her as she was on the ground. She was not able to breathe but did not lose consciousness. After several seconds, he released her and got off her. 

“She ran to her car, got inside without her shoes on and drove away to the sheriff’s office. She fears for her safety due to past threats he has made and his criminal history,” the report said in that case. 

The victim desired prosecution, the reports say. 

Sprague’s current criminal history includes a 2010 conviction of two counts of endangering the welfare of a child (first-degree) for assaulting a teenager and a 2020 conviction of voluntary manslaughter in connection with the death of Kameron Stillwell.