Cape Girardeau lawyer charged in domestic violence incident

A Cape Girardeau lawyer was charged Thursday with felony armed criminal action and first- and second-degree domestic violence for allegedly pointing an unloaded handgun at his fiancee's head Wednesday night.

Scott Reynolds, 47, who runs his own firm, was being held at the Cape Girardeau County Jail on Thursday morning on a $200,000 cash-only bond.

The incident, according to the Cape Girardeau County Sheriff's Department, occurred at Reynolds' residence at 851 County Road 603, Jackson, and in front of his fiancee's 6-year-old.

Reynolds has also been charged with endangering the welfare of a child and possessing less than 35 grams of marijuana.

Cape Girardeau County Prosecuting Attorney Morley Swingle filed a motion early Thursday that Reynolds' case be assigned to a special prosecutor. Associate Circuit Court Judge Gary A. Kamp assigned the case to Boone County, where assistant prosecuting attorney Andrea Hayes will handle the case.

Swingle said Reynolds is a friend of almost every lawyer in his office and they all felt it would be uncomfortable prosecuting Reynolds.

The alleged assault against Reynolds' fiancee began after the couple had an argument over a phone call and a picture message sent to Reynolds' mobile phone, according to a probable-cause affidavit filed by deputy Heather VanGennip. On Wednesday, before the victim could leave the residence, Reynolds took her keys and pulled her by her sweater to their master bedroom.

Once the two were in the bedroom, the victim said, Reynolds began to choke her and he punched her in the face and head numerous times. After the victim yelled at her daughter to get her shoes, Reynolds pointed a .357 revolver at his fiancee's face and pulled the trigger five times.

The victim told VanGennip, as detailed in the affidavit, that days before this incident she unloaded the same revolver. She was fearful Reynolds was going to kill her, she told VanGennip, because she didn't know if Reynolds had reloaded the firearm.

Officers saw red marks on the victim's throat, from her left to her right ear and a red mark the size of a softball on her back. They also saw other numerous cuts on her finger, face and her forearm.

According to the probable-cause affidavit, Reynolds admitted to retrieving the handgun to scare his fiancee, who was trying to obtain a knife she kept on the side of her bed. Reynolds also claimed a small baggie of marijuana on a night stand was the victim's.

After a brief scuffle and resisting arrest, police arrested Reynolds just after 9 p.m.

A court date hasn't yet been set for Reynolds to appear in Boone County.

ehevern@semissourian.com

388-3635

Pertinent address:

851 County Road 603, Jackson, MO