Pomona man arrested after courthouse scuffle

A Pomona man has received multiple felony charges following a tussle with security at the Howell County Courthouse earlier this month.

 

Taylor J. Nelson, age 40, of Pomona, has been charged with felony third-degree assault-special victim and felony resisting/interfering with arrest for a felony and received an additional charge of felony damage to jail/jail property following his arrest on March 15. He is currently being held in the Howell County Jail on a $25,000 cash or corporate surety bond on the initial charges.

 

The Howell County Sheriff's Office was aware that Nelson may be a problem, as he had a history of non-compliance with court security. They received information from the FBI in January, alleging Nelson had contacted the National Threat Center and made threats concerning the Howell County Courthouse, according to online court documents.

 

On the morning of March 15, Nelson went through the security check at the Courthouse. It is standard practice that every person entering a county courthouse in Missouri be checked for the safety of court staff and others. Court documents allege Nelson refused to raise his hands from his pockets so Sheriff's Sergeant Paul Bradshaw could scan him with the metal detector wand, saying “I do not consent to this search”.

 

Nelson was asked to leave the courthouse, but he continued further into the building, walking up the stairs to the second floor. Sgt. Bradshaw then 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.

 

After arriving at the Howell County Jail shortly before 10 am that morning, Nelson was placed in the booking cage area while a holding cell was being secured. The suspect was observed on camera violently kicking the chain link door in the booking cage. This caused damage to the door, ripping part of the chain link away from the door frame.

 

Nelson returned to court on March 25 for a counsel status hearing on the above charges.