Callaway County's Court found Scott A. Armstrong guilty of third-degree misdemeanor assault Tuesday. Armstrong was charged with assault after an incident involving a minor last spring.
In March 2014, the 13-year-old victim reported to law enforcement that Armstrong put him in a choke hold, cutting off his air supply and causing him to lose consciousness, temporarily.
Judge Gary M. Oxenhandler, after making his ruling Tuesday evening, gave Armstrong and his attorney time to file post-trial motions. If no post-trial motions are filed or if they are filed and denied, Armstrong will receive sentencing June 1.
The 13-year-old victim, his mother, a family friend, Callaway County Sheriff Dennis Crane, Armstrong and Armstrong's girlfriend all testified during Armstrong's bench trial Tuesday. Armstrong was initially set to be tired before a jury, however, he waived a jury trial last month and was tried before a judge Tuesday.
Those testifying who witnessed the incident all gave the judge their accounts during court Tuesday. On the day of the incident, a group of families, including the victims' and Armstrong, ate dinner together in Fulton. After dinner, most of the group returned to the home of Beth Ready, Armstrong's girlfriend. Witness accounts of that day agreed that the children mostly stayed in the basement, playing video games, while the adults socialized upstairs. When everyone was getting ready to leave Ready's home, Armstrong and a couple other adults present began discussing how tall the victim had grown.
During that discussion, the victim's mother and a family friend told the court Tuesday that they were standing nearby putting on their shoes. When they both looked up, they told the court that Armstrong had his right arm around the 13-year-old boy's neck. Shortly after, the boy passed out and began to fall to the kitchen floor. Armstrong, according to multiple testimonies Tuesday, attempted to catch the boy or ease his fall.
Armstrong did not deny causing injury to the boy's neck, however, his attorney, Douglas Shull, argued that Armstrong did not cause injury with recklessness.
"This was something that was entirely accidental," Shull told the court Tuesday.
Armstrong told the court that while discussing the boy's growth spurt that night, he moved his hand from his own forehead to above the boy's head, signalling in a playful manor that the boy was not that tall. When he did so, Armstrong said the boy grabbed Armstrong's wrist, again in a playful manor. Armstrong said he spun the boy around, placing his arm around the boy's neck, as he believed at the time that they were roughhousing. After that, the boy passed out, falling to the floor.
The 13-year-old told the court Tuesday that at the time of the incident he was standing in Ready's kitchen waiting for his parents and sister who were getting ready to leave. Armstrong, the boy said, put him in a choke hold. He said he tried to call out but couldn't breathe. When he regained his consciousness, he told the court he was sitting on the kitchen floor.
Callaway County Prosecuting Attorney Chris Wilson told the Fulton Sun that he spoke to the family after the court's decision Tuesday. He said both he and the family were pleased with the outcome of Tuesday's bench trial.