Joshua Joseph Ray Hunt, 47, of High Ridge has been charged with three felonies and one misdemeanor for allegedly threatening a woman with a gun and firing the gun inside and outside of a home in the 6800 block of River Creek Court in Byrnes Mill, court records show.
The Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office on Monday, April 7, charged Hunt with three counts of unlawful use of a weapon, which are class E felonies punishable by up to four years in prison each, and fourth-degree domestic assault, a class A misdemeanor that carries a penalty of up to one year in jail and a fine of up to $2,000, according to court documents.
As of Monday, Hunt was being held without bond at the Jefferson County Jail in Hillsboro, court records show.
A Byrnes Mill Police officer on April 5 was called to the home, and a woman met him at the front door. The woman told the officer that Hunt was in the house and had a gun, the case’s probable-cause statement said.
Hunt allegedly was holding a rifle when the officer found him. Hunt dropped the rifle when ordered and was arrested, the report said.
The woman told the officer Hunt allegedly was intoxicated when he came to the home and banged on the front door with a handgun. When the woman let him into the house, she said they started to argue and Hunt pointed the gun at her, according to the report.
The woman knocked the gun out of Hunt’s hand. However, he picked it up and shot it one time in the living room rug, the report said.
He then allegedly pointed the gun at his head and left the home. He shot the gun approximately five times into the ground before reentering the house, according to the report.
The woman said she grabbed the gun from Hunt and attempted to barricade herself in a bedroom. Hunt pushed the door open, and he hit the woman, threw her cell phone out the window and got a rifle from out of a gun safe in the room, the report said.
Jefferson County assistant prosecuting attorney Erik McCreary is prosecuting the case.