Jackson man charged with assault now faces tampering charge

A Jackson man facing an assault and child endangerment conviction in Cape Girardeau County has been charged with tampering with a witness for allegedly contacting the victim and asking her to drop the charges and not to testify against him in court.

Erik M. Marshall, 31, is accused of choking his girlfriend after a Jan. 23 domestic dispute and abusing her 2-year-old son by bruising his buttocks.

After his preliminary hearing Wednesday, where the victim testified, his case was been bound over to the Division I circuit court and is scheduled to proceed Monday.

According to probable-cause statement from deputy Jerry Franks, Marshall began attempts to communicate with the victim after a no-contact order was issued Jan. 24, the day he bonded out of jail.

The victim told Franks that Marshall called her from private numbers or a pay phone and told her he had changed and would seek treatment, but not while his case was still pending. She said that Marshall also told her his lawyer said she did not need to appear at any of the court hearings.

The victim missed a preliminary hearing set for Feb. 17 because she was sick and fell asleep, according to the affidavit. The hearing was rescheduled, but Marshall, according to the victim's statement, told her a warrant was issued for her arrest and she needed to run.

If she stayed away, Marshall allegedly told the victim, the case would be dropped.

Marshall is back in custody in the Cape Girardeau County jail on a $25,000 cash-only bond.

He is a persistent offender, convicted of felony second-degree assault in 2006 and felony possession of a controlled substance in 1997. Marshall also pleaded guilty to a second-degree domestic assault charge and driving under the influence of drugs in 2005 and was convicted of driving while intoxicated and possession of marijuana in 2002.

He is set to appear for a preliminary hearing on the tampering with a witness charges March 23.

ehevern@semissourian.com

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