Man on probation for assault plea accused of hitting victim in head with wrench

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Jefferson City man who was on probation for a first-degree assault plea from 2024 has been charged again.

Timothy Jerome Dale, 57, was charged on Monday in Cole County with second-degree assault, drug possession and tampering with evidence. He is being held at the Cole County Jail without bond and a court hearing has not been scheduled.

He pleaded guilty on June 20, 2024, on Cole County to first-degree assault and was sentenced on Dec. 6, 2024, to five years of probation and a 12-year suspended sentence.

The probable cause statement in his new case says an argument occurred on Sunday at a residence on Mulberry Street between Dale, the victim and a witness about Dale living with one of the witnesses.

Dale allegedly hit the victim in the head with a socket wrench and one of the witnesses ran for their safety, the statement says.

The victim was seen with a cut to their head that required staples to close and he was brought to Capital Region Medical Center, the statement says. The victim was treated and eventually released, the statement says.

A second witness convinced Dale to leave the home and speak with police when officers arrived, the statement says.

An officer wrote that a “crumpled piece of aluminum foil” was found on Dale and that officers had placed it on the hood of a patrol vehicle. Dale allegedly then bent over and swallowed the aluminum foil, court documents say. Similar pieces of foil were found inside an aluminum wallet, each containing methamphetamine, the statement says. Nearly 5 grams of meth was found, police wrote.

“Under Miranda, the Defendant did not admit to the assault, but stated if he did assault the Victim, it would be out of self-defense, and the Victim would deserve any injury sustained,” the probable cause statement says. “The Defendant stated if he did assault the Victim, he would kill him. The Defendant also stated he was actively under the influence of alcohol and narcotics and has been in an intoxicated state for several days.”