For further information please contact: Sgt. Kent Casey
417-359-1500 ext. 2229
DS020107-1
February 01, 2007

EMPHASIS: Assault On Trooper Results In Felony Arrest



On February 1, 2007 at approximately 11:00 a.m., a Missouri State Highway Patrol trooper stopped to assist what he believed to be a stranded motorist on Missouri Highway 171 north of Carl Junction in Jasper County. Further investigation revealed the subject was breaking into a car that was stranded in the ditch from the previous day’s snowstorm. When the trooper attempted to identify the subject the individual attempted to flee on foot and an altercation ensued. The subject was able to get away from the trooper and then attempted to flee in the van he had driven to the scene. In an attempt to drive away from the scene the subject’s van struck the trooper knocking him into the ditch. The van then slid off the roadway and struck the ditch. A second foot pursuit ensued and the subject was subsequently arrested. The investigation also revealed the van the subject was driving had been reported stolen in Joplin on January 31, 2007.

The subject, identified as George B. McDonald, 33, of Webb City, Missouri, was transported to St. John’s Hospital in Joplin, Missouri, for treatment of a laceration to the forehead and for a possible drug overdose. After being treated at the hospital McDonald was transported to the Jasper County Jail. The trooper involved was not seriously injured and was treated and released from Freeman West Hospital in Joplin.

George B. McDonald was arrested for first degree tampering, stealing a motor vehicle, felony resisting arrest, felony assault on a law enforcement officer, felony possession of a controlled substance, a felony warrant for parole violation, a felony warrant for receiving stolen property, a felony warrant for stealing, a felony warrant for forgery, and a felony warrant for absconding electronic monitoring supervision.

The charges for which George B. McDonald was arrested are mere accusations and are not evidence of guilt. Evidence is support of the charges must be presented before a court of competent jurisdiction whose duty it is to determine guilt or innocence.
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