A 56-year-old Mountain View, Missouri man is facing a string of felony charges after police say he assaulted a woman inside their home while a 6-year-old girl screamed for him to stop, then forced officers to break down the door to get the pair to safety. Grant Porter was arrested in July following a chaotic overnight incident that ended with him emerging from the residence nude from the waist down, according to court documents.
According to E Communications, Porter allegedly struck the woman in the face with thrown objects and punched her during the assault. Mountain View Police Officers Jacob Brixey and Cpl. Kylie McGee forced entry into the residence around 12:38 a.m. on July 28 after 911 dispatchers heard screaming on the line while the adult victim reported that Porter was actively assaulting her and threatening to shoot her, according to West Plains Daily Quill.
When officers breached the home, the woman and the 6-year-old girl escaped safely. Porter emerged slurring, swaying, and nude from the waist down before he was taken into custody, according to probable cause statements cited by Howell County News. The outlet reports the victim also told police that Porter had dropped his pants and exposed himself to her and the child, and that the child screamed for him to stop.
Physical Evidence Cited in Court Filings
Responding officers documented physical evidence at the scene that they said matched the woman's account, including facial injuries on her and a hole in a bedroom door with blood matching injuries on Porter's hand, per the same account from the Daily Quill. That evidence has been cited in court filings supporting the charges against him.
Porter's alleged threats reportedly did not stop once he was in custody. While being taken to a local hospital for a medical evaluation after his arrest, he allegedly made verbal threats against Cpl. McGee and continued threatening the victims while being read his Miranda rights, the report states.
Porter now faces third-degree domestic assault, creating a substantial risk, first-degree sexual misconduct, resisting arrest for a felony, and first-degree endangering the welfare of a child, according to E Communications. Under Section 565.074 of the Revised Statutes of Missouri, third-degree domestic assault is a Class E felony punishable by up to four years in prison and fines up to $10,000 upon conviction, according to Rose Legal Services. Separately, first-degree endangering the welfare of a child involving sexual conduct or substantial risk of harm is a felony carrying state prison time under Section 568.045.
Bond Reduced, Not Guilty Plea Entered
Porter's initial $25,000 cash or surety bond was reduced to $15,000 surety, and he has entered a plea of not guilty before Associate Circuit Judge R. David Ray in Howell County's 37th Judicial Circuit, the Daily Quill reports. He is represented by Assistant Public Defender Lacon Smith, while the case is being prosecuted by Howell County Prosecuting Attorney Mike Hutchings and Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Benjamin Sterling.
The case is unfolding in Mountain View, a small Ozark municipality of roughly 2,668 residents within Howell County, which has a total population of about 40,798, according to USAFacts. Missouri ranks 8th nationally for instances of domestic violence per National Coalition Against Domestic Violence statistics, a ranking that has prompted state lawmakers to introduce legislation this year to create a public offender registry.
As with all pending criminal matters, the charges against Porter remain allegations that have not been proven in court.
