Moniteau County man accused of hitting father in head with hatchet

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A California, Missouri, man was charged with three felonies after he was accused of hitting his own father with a hatchet on Sunday night.

Dustin Coffelt, 40, was charged in Cooper County with second-degree domestic assault, armed criminal action and unlawful use of a weapon. He is being held at the Cooper County Jail on a $20,000 bond. A court date has not been set.

Deputies were called to a trailer just before 10 p.m. Sunday after Coffelt allegedly hit the victim in the head with a hatchet, the probable cause statement says. The victim heard banging on his trailer, went outside and saw Coffelt with a hatchet, the statement says.

Coffelt allegedly swung the hatchet at the left side of the victim’s forehead and the deputy noted the injury in the probable cause statement. The hatchet then broke off the handle and Coffelt allegedly tried to attack the victim with the handle and a struggle over it ensued, court documents say.

Coffelt is on probation for a drug possession charge he pleaded guilty to in 2022, court filings show. A seven-year suspended sentence was included in that case.