Gainesville, MO. – An elderly Brixey man has been arrested following an incident earlier this month where he is accused of threatening his neighbors with a gun.
The suspect is 72-year-old Bradley D. Connell of Huckleberry Lane. The Ozark County Sheriff’s Office took Connell into custody on Sunday after a warrant was issued on October 6, 2023.
According to the probable cause statement, deputies with the Sheriff’s Office responded to a call on Oct. 2nd at 6:35 p.m. of a woman and her two children having their neighbor pointing a gun at them while in the road.
The woman stated that she had been walking down the road with her two minor children when Connell came out of the woodline with a firearm on his shoulder, shouting for her to get off his property and the suspect began blowing sirens from his fence. She said her father joined her down the road due to the shouting and that was when Connell lowered the firearm, chambered a round, and told her “I could do all sorts of things to you like blow out your knees”. She said this all took place in front of the two minor children. The woman then took the children and her father back to their home to call for law enforcement.
The deputy noted the sirens and cameras were spotted pointing towards the road as they had approached. The deputy also noted a man dressed in black cross the road and onto Connell’s yard but saw no indication of the man waiting to speak with them.
The woman stated there had been an ongoing property dispute with Connell after he blocked Huckleberry Lane with large rocks and spike traps to limit movement. She noted that while her father tried to move the rocks from the road, Connell had pointed a pistol at his face. Online court documents show the property dispute went back to the summer of 2021.
Bradley Connell is being held in the Ozark County Jail without bond on the charges of 1st-degree assault or attempt, unlawful use of a weapon – exhibiting, and armed criminal action.
