Court document claims men broke into Stover home, dragged victim out of bed to choke and hit him

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A probable cause statement filed by the Stover Police Department details a violent assault that allegedly occurred just after midnight on Saturday morning.

Details of the assault appeared in the probable cause statement for Austin Beckmann, who was charged in Morgan County on Monday with first-degree burglary. A warrant was issued and a $5,000 was set.

Court documents allege Beckmann was one of three men who broke into a home on Saturday that led to an assault. Charges were not filed against the other men on Monday and their names were redacted in the probable cause statement.

The victim allegedly awoke to two men standing over him before getting choked and punched by both, the statement says. The victim was allegedly dragged out of bed and into a hallway while the assailants put him in a continued choke hold, court documents say.

The victim allegedly told police that he thought he was going to die from the attack “due to his airway being restricted and experiencing tunnel vision,” court documents say. The victim was eventually able to break free of the choke hold and ran away, which is when the three men supposedly left, the statement says.

Beckmann was one of the three men identified by the victim and witnesses. The witnesses allegedly told law enforcement that they were watching television when Beckmann and the other men entered the residence. They allegedly yelled that they wanted the victim before running to the back of the home and breaking down a bedroom door, the statement says.

The witnesses described seeing the latter part of the assault that matched the victim’s description, the statement says.

Police noted that they were told Beckmann allegedly “was not observed physically assaulting” the victim.

The victim was brought to St. Mary’s Hospital in Jefferson City by a private vehicle, the statement says.

All three men were allegedly detained and put on 24-hour holds, but would not speak with police, the statement says. Beckmann was not listed on the jail’s online roster on Monday afternoon.