Jacob Lee Kelley, 29, of De Soto, a prior offender, recently was sentenced to 25 years in prison for assault and armed criminal action, court records show.
In June 2014, Kelley and another defendant, Melinda Warden, 30, of De Soto, were in an alley in the 800 block of North Second Street in De Soto fighting with neighbors over the location of a trash can and Kelley allegedly got a wooden bat and struck a man in the back with it and a woman in the face with it, causing the woman to fall to the ground, the probable-cause statement said.
While the female victim was on the ground, Warden kicked her in the head, the report said.
Warden also punched victims during the fight, according to the report.
The female victim was critically injured and transported to an area hospital where she had surgery for a brain bleed and fractured skull, the report said.
Kelley pleaded guilty to first-degree assault - causing serious physical injury and second-degree assault, both felonies. On July 13, Jefferson County Div. 3 Circuit Judge Nathan B. Stewart sentenced him to 15 years for the first-degree assault charge and 10 years for the second-degree assault charge, with the terms to be served consecutively, for a total of 25 years. However, he may be released early if he successfully completes a 24-month treatment program, according to the report.
Jefferson County assistant prosecuting attorney Douglas S. Pribble handled the case.
Warden was sentenced in September 2015 to seven years in prison in connection with the incident.
Kelley previously was convicted of felony stealing stemming from a July 2004 incident in Ste. Genevieve County and felony forgery tied to an October 2006 incident in Jefferson County.
He currently is in the Eastern Reception, Diagnostic and Correctional Center in Bonne Terre.