Firearms Owners Against Crime
Institute for Legal, Legislative and Educational Action
Institute for Legal, Legislative and Educational Action
STARK CITY, Mo. — A 36-year-old man was being treated for gunshot wounds after he allegedly attacked another man with a machete Thursday at a residence near Stark City, and the victim grabbed a rifle and shot him in self-defense.
Newton County Sheriff Chris Jennings said deputies responded to a report of a domestic disturbance on Norway Road and found Cody S. Bowman, 36, there with gunshot wounds, and Joseph Ward, 23, with an injury from having been struck in the head with a machete.
Bowman was taken to a Joplin hospital for treatment of his wounds. Assault charges were filed on him Friday, and the sheriff indicated he would be transported to the Newton County Jail once he is released from the hospital. Bowman is charged with first-degree assault, first-degree burglary and two counts of armed criminal action.
Jennings said Ward, who lives at the address, also was treated for injuries following the disturbance.
According to a probable-cause affidavit filed with the charges, Bowman was still in the yard of the residence, running water from a garden hose over gunshot wounds to his arm and hand when deputies arrived on the scene. He told the deputies that he had been shot four times. Deputies subsequently located two bullet wounds on him.
Occupants of the residence told deputies that Bowman was not supposed to be at the residence but broke some glass in a door trying to get in. Ward went outside and told Bowman to leave, and Bowman threw a machete that struck Ward in the head.
Ward told deputies that he then retrieved a .22-caliber rifle and shot Bowman twice as Bowman was coming at him with a bar that he had picked up in the driveway.
The affidavit states that deputies found a machete inside the house, where occupants said they had taken it to keep the weapon away from Bowman after he threw it. They also found five shell casings and three live rounds in the yard.
Bowman still had a large knife on his person when deputies first arrived. He was told to toss it on the ground, and he did, according to the affidavit. The document states that he was wearing a sheath for the machete on his belt.
Bowman lives near the residence where the disturbance took place. According to the affidavit, he told a deputy in January that he was no longer allowed at the residence where Ward and one of Bowman's adopted siblings live.
The sheriff said Bowman's motive for the assault remains under investigation.