Homeless Joplin man waives hearing for alleged assault on girlfriend

Sept. 5 — A defendant whose address is listed in court records as Watered Gardens Ministry in Joplin waived a preliminary hearing Thursday on felony charges stemming from an alleged attack on his girlfriend.

Thomas E. Harris, 46, was bound over in Jasper County Circuit Court on charges of second-degree domestic assault and possession of a controlled substance. The court set his arraignment in a courtroom for October 7.

Harris was arrested by Joplin police on the morning of May 6 following an argument with his girlfriend, during which he put his hands over her mouth and nose so she couldn’t breathe. A search of him incidental to his arrest turned up a small bag of methamphetamine in his hat, according to an affidavit.