Ash Grove’s King arrested on charges of assault, unlawful use of weapon

An Ash Grove man was taken into custody on Saturday, July 5, after he allegedly fired a shotgun at a person. John Samuel King, 52, is charged with first-degree assault and unlawful use of a weapon.
According to the probable cause statement in the case, the victim reported that he was in a physical altercation with a woman, identified as Witness One, and a man, identified as Witness Two.
The victim said Witness One drove him to a residence on Friday, July 4. At the residence, the victim said, King and another man came out of the dwelling. The woman then told King, “Shoot him,” and King then fired two rounds from his shotgun. The first one, he said, went over his head, and the second one went into the ground in front of him.
Witness One was later reportedly taken into custody for third-degree domestic assault. According to the probable cause statement, she said that she asked King to get his gun and scare away the victim because of the altercation. Afterwards, she said, she drove King to her residence in Springfield. Witness Two was also taken into custody for third-degree domestic assault.
 
Standoff-ish
Greene County Sheriff’s deputies went to King’s residence in Ash Grove on Saturday, July 5, to take him into custody. Two individuals exited the house when they arrived; one of them told deputies that King was in the basement. Deputies then made multiple attempts to contact King and order him out of the house because he was under arrest.
One of King’s family members arrived on the scene and attempted to contact him by phone but no contact was made with King. The family member also told deputies that King had multiple firearms.
A search warrant was obtained for the residence, and members of Greene County SWAT were requested. An announcement was made that a warrant had been obtained for the residence, after which officers opened the front door to the residence. 
Upon entering the house, deputies found King and took him into custody. He later denied during a post-Miranda interview that he had a shotgun that he fired at the victim; he also claimed to have been in the basement of the house and did not know that deputies were outside and instructing him to leave the house. He also claimed he didn’t know where his phone was when his relative tried to call him, and that he didn’t know the deputies were outside until moments before they entered his house. 
 
Charges
In addition to the charges of assault and unlawful use of a weapon, King is also charged with possession of a controlled substance from a case in 2023. Online records show a warrant was issued for his arrest on Jan. 31, 2024, when he failed to appear at a hearing on that charge. He is currently being held without bond at the Greene County Jail. He is scheduled to appear in court on Wednesday, July 16, for a bond hearing, and again on Wednesday, July 30, for a criminal setting hearing. He will appear in court on Monday, Aug. 11, for a counsel status hearing on the possession charge.