Missouri Court of Appeals, Southern District / Feb 11, 2020
STATE OF MISSOURI, Respondent vs. JOSEPH THERON WRIGHT, Appellant
Joseph Theron Wright appealed his conviction for second-degree domestic assault, challenging his sentencing as a persistent assault offender and an alleged comment on his failure to testify during closing arguments. The appellate court reversed and remanded for resentencing, agreeing that the persistent assault offender finding was erroneous because a prior conviction post-dated the current offense. The court affirmed the trial court's overruling of the objection to the closing argument, finding no plain error.