Published: October 03, 2008 02:47 pm      

Date set in assault case

A court date remains set for later this month for a Maysville man accused of assaulting a small group of people that included his girlfriend.

Neal Earnest Stephen, 33, remains in jail on a five-figure bond set last week after he surrendered to authorities on the accusation he attempted to kill a trio of individuals during the alleged assault at a Maysville residence.

Keeping him jail is a $90,000 bond, which was ordered by a judge after state prosecutors requested the total be set at $100,000.

Garvin County court records show the defendant was unsuccessful in asking for a $12,500 bond.

If the bond is ever posted in the case Stephen was ordered to stay away from three individuals involved in the alleged attack.

His next court appearance in the case is currently scheduled for Oct. 17.

Maysville authorities were initially unable to locate Stephen when a warrant was issued for his arrest after a total of five criminal counts were filed against him on Sept. 18.

A few days later he is reported to have voluntarily turned himself in to officials at the county jail facility in Pauls Valley.

Stephen faces two felony assault and battery charges — one accusing him of using force likely to produce death and another with the intent to kill.

One of those criminal counts accuse Stephen of using his hands to grab and snap his girlfriend’s neck during a Sept. 16 altercation resulting in a pop as the woman passed out at a Maysville residence in the 700 block of 8th.

The suspect is also alleged to have used a heavy, medium-sized cast iron skillet to strike the woman in the face causing a bone fracture.

Two other felony counts of assault accuse Stephen of assaulting two other individuals and had the intent to kill when he held two skillets on each side of their heads while making deadly threats.

The fifth charge against Stephen is cruelty to animals, which specifically is an allegation he kicked a neighbor’s gray-striped tabby kitten with such force it caused one of the animal’s bones to fracture in three places.