A Springfield man accused of assaulting his neighbor with a shovel appeared in court Monday morning, telling the judge that he was the “victim of all these charges.”
Michael Eugene Campbell, 47, of Springfield is facing three felony counts of unlawful use of a weapon, armed criminal action and littering.
He remains in the Greene County Jail and will have a bond reduction hearing later this month.
According to court documents, police were called to Campbell’s neighborhood in the 1700 block of West Olive Street twice on the evening of April 10.
The first alleged incident happened around 7 p.m. The victim told police he was struck with a shovel by Campbell.
The victim said he grabbed ahold of Campbell to prevent Campbell from hitting him again and they fell to the ground. The victim reported Campbell continued to hit the victim on the head.
One witness told police she saw Campbell grab a pickaxe and swing it at the victim but he missed.
Another witness told police he saw Campbell throw trail mix on the road. That witness said he saw Campbell holding the pickaxe and believed Campbell was going to throw it at him, according to court documents.
A third witness told police she also saw Campbell strike the victim with a shovel. This witness told police that at one point Campbell had a machete, a pitchfork and a shovel.
Witnesses say man waved metal bar at them
Officers returned to the same area a few hours later. A second victim told police he was there to help a friend who lived there gather some belongings so his friend could stay with him for the night due to an earlier altercation with Campbell.
This victim and a witness said while they were waiting outside, Campbell began yelling slurs at them, according to court documents. As Campbell continued yelling slurs at them, he left his porch with a metal object in his hand and waved the object around as if he was going to hit someone with it.
The victim told police he attempted to restrain Campbell and a physical altercation between the two began.
Police were called and Campbell retreated back into his house. Police used a PA system to convince Campbell to come out.
The officer responding to the second call noted in the probable cause statement that he observed a black and red metal bar laying in Campbell’s yard. The officer separately asked the witness and second victim to describe the metal object Campbell was holding and both described the black and red metal bar.
The officer responding to the first call noted in the probable cause statement that Campbell has had past outstanding warrants and has “also continued to be involved in multiple calls for service as a possible suspect for various incidents involving a possible robbery …”
Campbell is a registered sex offender.
