Bois D’Arc’s Keith charged with child endangerment, other crimes

A Bois D’Arc man is accused of attempting to strike a woman in Miller with his van and afterwards putting two children at risk for injury due to alleged careless driving. Bobby Keith, 35, is charged with one count of first-degree attempted assault, one count of armed criminal action and two counts of child endangerment.
According to the probable cause statement, the victim in the case told investigators that her daughter brought the two children of Keith’s girlfriend, Michelle Rice, to her (the victim’s) home on Sunday, Jan 16. The victim said Rice asked her daughter to take the children overnight because Rice’s place did not have electricity.
On Thursday, Jan. 20, the victim said, Rice had not come for her children, despite her (the victim’s) attempts to contact Rice and inquire about when she would come for them. The woman said she believed Rice had abandoned her children and called the Department of Family Services (DFS). The victim said she was advised by DFS later that day to give the children to Rice.
The victim said Rice and Keith came to her house on Jan. 20 and were upset that DFS had been contacted, and a “disturbance ensued which quickly escalated.” The woman said after the children had been put in Keith’s van, she was in her yard yelling at Keith and Rice when the van abruptly lunged towards the woman but stopped short of striking her.
Later, the woman said, the van backed out of her driveway onto Highway 39 without checking to make sure it was safe to do so and was nearly struck by a passing vehicle.
The victim told investigators that she had footage of the entire incident on video and audio from her security system. A Lawrence County deputy sheriff reported that he viewed the footage, and that it was consistent with the victim’s statement.
Keith was booked into the Lawrence County Jail on Monday, Feb. 28; as of press time, he was still being held there without bond. He is scheduled to appear in court for a bond hearing on Thursday, March 10.