An alleged incident of domestic assault in Pomona has resulted in felony charges for a man that reportedly assaulted his wife, and his son, who allegedly fired a shotgun near his father shortly after the altercation.
Daniel J. Metz, 58, is charged with second-degree domestic assault and Vincent L. Metz, 21, is charged with unlawful use of a weapon by discharging into a home and armed criminal action.
The evening of Feb. 20, Howell County Deputy Devon Mendenhall reported, he was dispatched to the Metz home, having been told a woman called 911 to report a disturbance and requested law enforcement before the call ended.
Dispatch was able to call with the victim back, and was told by the victim she believed Daniel Metz headbutted her, causing a knot on her forehead, and the two had stopped fighting but her oldest son was keeping Metz in the garage.
The woman added she did not need an ambulance but was having a hard time remembering certain things.
Mendenhall then met the woman just outside the house and, he reported, noticed a large and distinct contusion on her forehead. Inside, the deputy reported he saw Vincent Metz standing near the entrance to the house, his father standing in the dining room area.
In speaking with the elder Metz, the deputy learned there had been a fight between the man and his wife, prompted by the wife's discovery of “inappropriate” conversations and photos exchanged between him and another woman on his phone. Metz then refused to answer any more questions about the incident and the suspect was placed in Mendenhall's patrol vehicle.
During further investigation, the woman said all she could remember was the argument, then taking Metz's phone and credit cards and hiding them. While she and the deputy were looking for the phone, a spent shotgun shell was found on the ground in an opening between the living room and kitchen, and the deputy noticed a hole in a stainless steel trash can and a kitchen island behind it that appeared to be caused by a shotgun projectile.
Vincent Metz reportedly told law enforcement he was in his bedroom when he heard his parents arguing, then heard his mother screaming and crying. He said he put a pistol in his pants pocket and grabbed a shotgun before going to the living room where he saw the woman on the floor, holding her head and screaming and crying.
He also told Mendenhall he knew his father had been drinking that evening and, when asked what had happened with the shotgun, reportedly said he fired the gun at the trash can. He added that after the shot, his father went to the garage while the son made sure he didn't come back towards his mother.
When the deputy asked if he had fired the gun with the intention of murdering, wounding or scaring his father, the younger Metz said he was afraid of his father and was aiming at the trash can. He reportedly showed the deputy where the firearms were located, in his bedroom. He was also arrested and placed in the patrol car of another deputy who had responded to the scene, court documents show.
The woman was taken by ambulance to Ozarks Healthcare in West Plains for a medical examination due to her head injury, Mendenhall reported.
Court records show Vincent Metz was held with a $10,000 cash or corporate surety bond warrant issued on Feb. 21 and posted bond the next day, with an initial appearance scheduled for March 25 before 37th Judicial Associate Circuit Court Judge R. David Ray.
He is represented by West Plains attorney Jacob Garrett, according to court records, and his case is being prosecuted by Howell County Prosecutor Mike Hutchings and Assistant Prosecutor Jodi Wake.
Daniel Metz was held on a $15,000 cash or corporate surety bond warrant issued Feb. 21, bonded out the next day, and entered a not guilty plea at his arraignment on Feb. 26, court records show. He is scheduled for a counsel status hearing before Ray on March 25. He has hired Bethany Turner as a defense attorney, and the case is being prosecuted by Hutchings and Assistant Prosecutor Heath Hardman.
