Courthouse scuffle earns 7 years

Taylor J. Nelson, age 40, of Pomona, has been sentenced to serve seven years in the Missouri Department of Corrections. In March 2024, Nelson refused a security check while attempting to enter Howell County Courthouse.

 

Without submitting to a routine security check, Nelson was asked to leave the courthouse, but he continued further into the building, heading up the stairs to the second floor. Sgt. Paul Bradshaw of the Howell County Sheriff’s Department attempted to take Nelson into custody after telling him repeatedly to leave the building. A deputy came to help Bradshaw after Nelson began to fight against being arrested. Nelson is accused of destroying the sergeant’s radio microphone and hitting him in the head in the struggle. The suspect was eventually arrested after multiple other deputies arrived to assist.

 

While in custody, Nelson also kicked apart a chain link door in the booking cage of the jail. He was found guilty of those charges and sentenced to restitution and ordered to write an apology letter. An appeal to a higher court was denied on May 5. 

 

For the assault charges, Nelson was sentenced to seven years to run concurrently with a four-year sentence for resisting arrest.