Joshua D. Stockinger, 28, of House Springs faces four felony charges after an alleged road-rage incident on July 6 that left a man with broken legs and a woman with cuts on her head.
According to the probable-cause statement in the case, Stockinger was driving a white Chevy Cruze west on Hwy. MM near Music Mountain Road in House Springs and came to an abrupt stop. A 52-year-old House Springs man driving a service van behind Stockinger braked and veered into the eastbound lane of traffic to avoid hitting the rear of Stockinger’s vehicle. The man driving the van continued westbound and turned right onto Katrina Drive. Stockinger pulled in behind him, and then the 52-year-old man got out of the van to ask Stockinger why he stopped so quickly and why he was following him.
An argument ensued and Stockinger assaulted the 52-year-old with his car, said Lt. Gary Higginbotham of the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office.
“At some point the suspect drove into the other guy and pinned him against his vehicle,” Higginbotham said.
Stockinger then allegedly drove down Katrina and turned around to come back down the street. In the meantime, the victim’s wife, a 53-year-old House Springs woman who was following her husband, arrived on the scene and got out of her car.
“She was standing between the victim and the suspect’s car. He (the suspect) sees her, gets out of his car and words were exchanged. The suspect then (allegedly) strikes her with his prosthetic arm,” Higginbotham said.
Stockinger has a metallic prosthesis in place of his left hand and forearm, according to the probable-cause statement.
The suspect then allegedly left the scene, Higginbotham said.
At 8:14 p.m., the Sheriff’s Office got a call that a pedestrian had been struck by a vehicle near the intersection of Hwy. MM and Heads Creek Road.
When deputies arrived, they found the 52-year-old man on the ground next to his service van.
“He had two broken legs,” Higginbotham said.
He also had other injuries related to the assault, and his wife had lacerations on her right ear and the right side of her head, the report said. Both victims were transported by ambulance to area hospitals.
Sheriff’s deputies “canvassed the area and found the (suspect’s) vehicle in the 5500 block of Echo Valley Drive (where Stockinger lives),” Higginbotham said. “Damage was observed to the vehicle, and the suspect was in the car and taken into custody.”
Higginbotham said the suspect made contradictory statements about the traffic incident. The suspect claims the victim struck his car, but there is no evidence to support the claim, Higginbotham said.
“His claims have no substance. They were contradictory and there was no evidence to support it. We don’t think there was any contact (before the incident at Katrina),” Higginbotham said.
When Stockinger was arrested, he was complaining of neck pain, and his 26-year-old girlfriend, who was a passenger in the car, was complaining of back pain. Both were transported by ambulance to area hospitals.
Stockinger was assessed as “fit for confinement” and was transferred to the Jefferson County Jail.
Both women were treated and released, but the 52-year-old man whose legs were broken was admitted to the hospital.
On July 7, the Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office charged Stockinger with one count of first-degree assault, a class A felony; one count of second-degree assault, a class C felony; one count of leaving the scene of a motor vehicle accident, a class D felony; and one count of armed criminal action, an unclassified felony.
The class A felony carries a sentence of 10 to 30 years or life in prison; a class C felony is punishable by up to seven years; a class D felony carries a maximum penalty of four years in prison; and the armed criminal action charge is punishable by at least three years in prison.
Stockinger was being held today (July 12) in the Jefferson County Jail on a $150,000 cash-only bond.