James Anton Brewer, 52, who previously lived in De Soto, was recently transferred to the Jefferson County Jail in Hillsboro after being charged with numerous felonies for allegedly assaulting a woman and trying to coerce her to not pursue charges, according to court and jail records.
Brewer is currently serving a four-year prison sentence for third-degree domestic assault. He was in the Eastern Reception, Diagnostic and Correctional Center in Bonne Terre before being transferred to the Jefferson County Jail, according to prison records.
The Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office has charged Brewer with four felony counts of third-degree domestic assault, three felony counts of armed criminal action and a felony count of tampering or attempting to tamper with the victim of a felony prosecution, according to court documents.
Brewer was arrested on April 4 after he was found hiding in a closet with a woman and child. He allegedly had attacked the woman on three separate occasions before being arrested, according to a probable-cause statement filed by the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office.
The woman told investigators Brewer hit her with a wood club that had a screw in it multiple times on April 2. She said Brewer attacked her again on April 3, hitting her multiple times with a hollow metal broom handle and burning her with a lighter, the report said.
The woman also told investigators Brewer punched her several times before deputies found them in the closet on April 4, according to the report.
After the arrest, a judge revoked Brewer’s probation for prior domestic abuse charges and sentenced him to four years in prison, court records said.
While in prison, Brewer allegedly tried to contact the woman by phone and sent her a letter to try to get her to not pursue charges against him, according to another probable-cause statement filed by the Sheriff’s Office.