Fifty-year-old Michael Brian Petko of Desoto has been charged with multiple felonies and a misdemeanor for allegedly assaulting a man with a baseball bat on July 4th. The Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office charged Petko on July 5th with first-degree burglary, second-degree assault, armed criminal action, and second-degree property damage.
Petko allegedly attacked a man on July 4th, three days after he had been told to leave a home in the 12000 block of Green Acres Drive near Desoto. The alleged victim told authorities he had allowed Petko to live in a camper on the property but did not grant him access to the home.
According to court documents, Petko came to the victim’s home with a baseball bat where an argument broke out, leading him to follow the man into the home where he allegedly broke two windows and other items with the bat. Petko also allegedly swung the bat, but the alleged victim blocked it with his hands, causing bruising and swelling.
Petko ran away before deputies arrived, but he was located and arrested. He was on probation at the time of the alleged attack after pleading guilty to second-degree robbery in St. Francois County in December 2018. He was sentenced to five years in prison, but that sentence was reduced to probation.
He’s being held without bond in the Jefferson County Jail in Hillsboro.
