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Man arrested on suspicion of domestic violence, child abuse, menacing

Sheriff’s Office says Joseph John kept woman from leaving room
John

A 39-year-old La Plata County man was arrested on suspicion of eight different charges, including third-degree assault, menacing and child abuse, after a domestic violence dispute earlier this week.

The La Plata County Sheriff’s Office was dispatched around 1:30 a.m. Monday to a home near Elmore’s Corner, near the intersection of U.S. Highway 160 and Colorado Highway 172, for a report of a disturbance between a man and a woman.

According to court records, while en route, deputies were told the man had a gun, two knives and was blocking a woman in a room. Deputies were also informed the man jumped the woman, and the woman had to fight the man off.

When they got there, deputies found the man, later identified as Joseph John, in the driveway of a home. John, documents show, appeared intoxicated, was slurring his words and having a hard time standing up.

“We held him at gunpoint for over two minutes while giving repeated verbal commands,” the deputy wrote. “(John) finally complied after multiple statements that he would have a less lethal shotgun round deployed on him if he did not.”

Deputies entered the house and spoke to the woman. A gun was on the kitchen table, the investigating deputy wrote.

The woman told investigators she returned home around 10:30 p.m. Sunday after a trip out of town. When she got home, the woman said John was intoxicated and upset.

“(The woman) had never seen him like this before,” the deputy wrote. “(John) threw and broke many items around the house.”

The woman said John grabbed her by the arm and back of the neck, and threw her across the room. He then retrieved his gun and knives from a cabinet in the home.

“I asked (the woman) if (John) pointed the firearm at her, and she said she couldn’t look when he had it in his hand,” the deputy wrote.

The woman told deputies that John had trapped her in a back bedroom of the house, standing in the doorway with the firearm and knives in his hands.

“During my interview with (the woman), she was visibly shaken,” the deputy wrote. “Her entire body was trembling and her eyes were tearing up. She kept repeating that this had never happened before and she didn’t know why it happened.”

A witness, whose name is redacted in court documents, said John pointed the firearm, but that it was unloaded. The witness, it appears, took four juveniles out of the house.

Sgt. Wes Doughty said the witness was a family member who was present for most of the incident.

“All four of these (juveniles) were present during this incident and witnessed the violence directed at (the woman) by (John),” the deputy wrote.

Court documents show the woman and John have been dating for six years and have two children together.

Deputies located a 14-inch and 16-inch knife in the carport, along with empty beer cans nearby. John was taken to the La Plata County Jail and is being held on $5,000 bail.

The woman, Doughty said, did not suffer substantial physical injuries.

John was arrested on suspicion of domestic violence; menacing, a Class 5 felony; false imprisonment, a Class 5 felony; third-degree assault, a Class 1 misdemeanor; obstructing a peace officer, a Class 2 misdemeanor; prohibited use of a weapon, a Class 2 misdemeanor; reckless endangerment, a Class 3 misdemeanor; and child abuse, a Class 3 misdemeanor.

jromeo@durangoherald.com



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