Ash Grove man receives probation on domestic assault convictions

Jun. 23—MOUNT VERNON, Mo. — An Ash Grove man received suspended sentences and was placed on probation when he pleaded guilty this month to assaulting a woman.

William H. Lakey, 53, pleaded guilty June 14 in Lawrence County Circuit Court to counts of first-degree domestic assault and second-degree domestic assault in a plea bargain dismissing a third felony count of domestic assault and a count of armed criminal action.

Circuit Judge David Cole accepted the plea arrangement and assessed Yates 12 years for first-degree domestic assault and seven years for the second-degree count with execution of the sentences suspended and the defendant placed on supervised probation for five years.

Court records state that Lakey assaulted Linda Burton on May 23, 2020, on County Road 1250 in Lawrence County.

A deputy called to the property found Burton there with a black eye, and she told the deputy that Lakey had hit her several times with his hands before picking up a board and hitting her with it. She said he also hit her in the back with a broom and tried to choke her, according to a probable-cause affidavit.

Jeff Lehr is a reporter for The Joplin Globe.

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