A Joplin man who killed his father in 2008 is now charged with assaulting his girlfriend.
Dustin Eugene Fanning, 47, faces felony charges of second-degree domestic assault, first-degree burglary, armed criminal action, third-degree assault and unlawful use of a weapon. He also is charged with a sixth count, a misdemeanor of second-degree property damage for breaking a neighbor’s windows.
According to the probable-cause statement about the case in Jasper County court records, Jasper County deputies were sent to Fanning’s residence on North Schifferdecker Avenue to respond to an assault, and he was arrested there at 6:55 p.m. Sunday.
His girlfriend told authorities that Fanning got upset about an argument over social media. Deputies were told Fanning “had been drinking alcohol and smoking marijuana throughout the day,” according to the statement. The woman said that during the argument Fanning struck her with his fists and bit her hand, causing visible injuries. She then ran out of the camper where they lived with Fanning chasing her with a hatchet, authorities were told. She ran to a neighbor’s house asking for help. Fanning followed, witnesses reported.
Deputies said the girlfriend and three witnesses at the neighbor’s house told them that Fanning came into the house uninvited and made threats to all of them. Two witnesses said they tried to get the hatchet away from Fanning, but that he was screaming and waving the weapon around, according to affidavit.
A judge ordered Fanning held in jail on the charges under $500,000 bond.
Fanning previously served 14 years of a 16-year prison sentence on a charge of second-degree murder in the death of his father, Harold Fanning, 78.
The elder Fanning was found dead by other relatives Aug. 3, 2008, in his home at 1804 W. 20th St. Authorities determined that the man died as the result of blunt force injuries to his head from Dustin Fanning punching him in the head with his fists. Fanning told his brother, according to previous reports, that he assaulted his father after he was angered by comments his father made about Fanning’s mother.
Dustin Fanning pleaded guilty to the the murder charge under a plea agreement Oct. 2, 2009. He appealed the case two years later, but the appeal did not result in his release. He was paroled in 2022, according to Jasper County court documents.