Southeast Missouri man shot by father faces assault charges

CAMPBELL, Mo. -- The Campbell man allegedly shot in the stomach by his father was charged Thursday with assaulting his father with a knife.

Ricky Lee McCurter Jr., 28, of the 800 block of Morgan Street was charged with the Class B felony of first-degree assault and the unclassified felony of armed criminal action by Dunklin County Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Jonce B. Chidister.

Associate Circuit Judge John Spielman issued a warrant for McCurter Jr.'s arrest and set his bond at $50,000 cash.

Campbell Police Chief Weldon Wallace said McCurter Jr. was released from the hospital on Thursday, and as of Friday afternoon McCurter Jr. had not been arrested. "I would like to find him," he said.

The charges stem from an incident reported to the Campbell Police Department on Oct. 24.

At about 2:50 p.m., the Dunklin County Sheriff's Department received a 911 call from Ricky Lee McCurter Sr. indicating he had shot his son, Campbell Officer David Dillard said in his probable cause affidavit filed with the court.

Upon his arrival, Dillard said, he was met by the elder McCurter, who was standing in the doorway of his Morgan Street home.

The elder McCurter reported to Dillard "he had shot his son ... (He) stated his son was trying to kill him, so he shot him and he (needed) an ambulance bad."

Dillard said he secured the gun, which in earlier reports had been described as a black-powder pistol. An open lock-blade knife also was found laying on the floor with the pistol, he said.

"McCurter Sr. had two cuts on his right hand on the middle finger that he received while fighting McCurter Jr.," Dillard said. "Also, McCurter Sr. stated that McCurter Jr. was choking him and that is when he grabbed the gun and shot his son."

The younger McCurter was flown to a Cape Girardeau hospital for treatment.

McCurter Jr., Dillard said, was in Campbell Municipal Court on Oct. 14 in reference to an alleged domestic assault involving his 59-year-old father.