Man charged with domestic violence for barricading himself with baby in his Pilot Grove home

PILOT GROVE, Missouri (KMIZ)

A Jefferson City man has been charged with several serious crimes after barricading himself in a Pilot Grove home with a baby on Sunday, according to court documents.

Jacob Johnson, 25, was charged with second-degree burglary, first-degree child endangerment, second-degree kidnapping and fourth-degree domestic violence. He is being held without bail in the Cooper County Jail.

Johnson was previously charged in another case involving one of the victims in Sunday's standoff. On Aug. 2, he was charged with third-degree domestic violence and second-degree endangering the welfare of a child, which are misdemeanors. The probable cause statement for this week's charges states that bail conditions in the August case require him to have no contact with the victim.

On Sunday afternoon, police officers were called to a home in Pilot Grove because Johnson was inside the victim's home. A Pilot Grove police officer arrived and saw Johnson standing in the yard of the home next to a vehicle and the victim trying to catch two of her children who were also outside, the statement said.

Johnson then ran into the house and barricaded the door with a refrigerator, the statement said. The officer heard a baby crying and the child's mother told him there was another 8-month-old baby on the lower floor of the house, the statement said.

Johnson allegedly threw the cell phone at the victim, called her and told her to tell the officers to leave and tell them she wanted him there, the statement said. The officer and a Cooper County Sheriff's deputy were eventually able to move the refrigerator and went into the house, the statement said.

Officers did not see the baby downstairs, but followed his cries and screams to the upper floor of the house, the statement said. Johnson had locked himself in the room with the baby, the statement said. Officers ordered Johnson to open the door, which he did, the statement said.

The deputy was able to take the baby from Johnson's hands and bring him to safety, the statement said.

Johnson reportedly told the officer that he ran into the apartment when he saw him because “we always arrest him,” court documents say.

No court date has been set for the charges stemming from Sunday's incident. An attorney status hearing is scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 8, at 1 p.m. in the third-degree domestic violence case.