Domestic assault suspect charged with 5 felonies following sheriff's patrol, Herman PD Pursuit

By Dave Marner, Managing Editor
Posted 10/21/20

A Morrison man is jailed in Linn without bond following his arrest Friday at a residence in the far northwestern Gasconade County community.

Joshua D. Blackburn is charged in a felony …

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Domestic assault suspect charged with 5 felonies following sheriff's patrol, Herman PD Pursuit

Posted
A Morrison man is jailed in Linn without bond following his arrest Friday at a residence in the far northwestern Gasconade County community.

Joshua D. Blackburn is charged in a felony no-bond warrant with first-degree burglary, violations of orders of protection for both an adult and a child, resisting arrest by fleeing, and one Gasconade County count of first-degree endangering the welfare of a child creating substantial risk.
Scott Eiler, Gasconade County’s interim sheriff, reports Blackburn’s arrest followed incidents which began Oct. 13 when his deputies assisted the Hermann Police Department with a pursuit initiated in their venue.
“Through a joint investigation, it was determined the suspect, Joshua D. Blackburn, arrived at a residence in the 200 block of Third Street in Morrison,” according to a report issued Monday evening by Eiler. “Blackburn left the residence with an adult victim and their infant child. A short time later, Blackburn failed to stop for the Hermann Police Department. Due to safety concerns, the Hermann Police Department and Gasconade County Sheriff’s Deputies terminated the pursuit.”
On Thursday, sheriff's deputies responded back to the residence located in the 200 block of Third Street in Morrison for a report of a domestic disturbance between Blackburn and the adult victim. While deputies were en route, Gasconade County Central Communications advised the residence was now on fire and Morrison’s volunteer fire department was dispatch to the scene.
“The Morrison Fire Department quickly extinguished the fire,” Eiler’s report noted. “Blackburn was not located after a search of the residence was conducted.”
The following day, Oct. 16, Eiler’s deputies responded back to the residence in Morrison after being informed Blackburn was back at the residence.
When deputies arrived, Eiler reports “Blackburn, barricaded himself inside the residence.”
Blackburn was taken into custody by Gasconade County Sheriff’s deputies without incident after a short foot pursuit.
Eiler said additional charges are pending against Blackburn and would be announced once the investigation is complete. Blackburn was transported to the Osage County Detention Center pending further charges, Eiler reported.
“I want to thank the Osage County Sheriff’s Office, Missouri State Highway Patrol, Hermann Police Department, Morrison Fire Department, and Hermann Ambulance for their assistance,” said Eiler in a press release.
Osage County Sheriff Mike Bonham said he received a request for help in the search for Blackburn but K-9 Zed was unavailable at the time.
“We offered to deploy our ATV unit, but it wasn’t necessary as Gasconade County deputies took Mr. Blackburn into custody in quick order,” said Bonham. “We are always happy to assist with resources when needed, and I’m glad the situation was controlled without further complication.”

 
 
 
Blackburn scheduled in court today
 
BY DAVE MARNER
Managing editor
 
The Morrison man accused this past week of violating two full orders of protection was out of jail on a $25,000 cash or surety bond at the time.
Joshua D. Blackburn, who has had addresses listed in court documents in Washington and Morrison over the past couple of years, was scheduled to be in Gasconade County Associate Circuit Court this morning (Wednesday) for a hearing on his second alleged violation of prior orders of protection, banning him from contact with his wife and their child. 
Two years ago in Washington, he is alleged to have struck his wife in the jaw during a verbal argument in a commuter parking lot. He was scheduled to be going to a psychiatric appointment that day in November 2018 when the incident took place. He faces a felony third-degree domestic assault charge in that case. That case was recently passed to Oct. 27 for a plea hearing in Franklin County before Circuit Judge Craig E. Hellmann.
Court records in Gasconade County and neighboring Franklin and Warren counties reveal a trend of rapidly escalating domestic violence incidents since then.
Blackburn and his wife were divorced in August. Court proceedings were held in Warren County where she had residence then.
He was out on bond for alleged violations of two June 2020 protective orders when he was charged in the Oct. 13 warrants in Gasconade County. He did not appear in court at the June 14 hearing in Warren County. Those two full orders of protection, one for an adult and one for his child, were put in effect until June 2022.
His prior violations, from November 2019, resulted in 90-day jail sentences with suspended executions of sentences on each count and two years of probation.
He was charged on Sept. 28 in Gasconade County with the alleged second-offense violations of both orders, both felonies, along with first-degree felony property damage. That case, along with his new charges, are before Associate Circuit Judge Ada Brehe-Krueger. He is scheduled to be on the 9 a.m. docket today (Oct. 21). Additional charges are also pending in the investigation into the pursuit, domestic threats, and attempts to set fire to the residence in Morrison  last week (see story on page 1).