Man Receives Suspended Sentence For Unlawful Gun Possession

A Crawford County man pleaded guilty Sept. 4 and received a suspended sentence for unlawful gun possession.

Joseph Caltry, 45, discharged his weapon during an argument with lost motorists Aug. 8, 2023.

Caltry — who was convicted for drug possession in 2018 — was charged with unlawful use of a weapon and unlawful possession of a firearm. He was restricted from owning a firearm.

The state dropped the unlawful use of a weapon charge against Caltry.

Judge Megan Seay sentenced him to four years in the Missouri Department of Corrections with a suspended sentence, along with five years of probation.

The probable cause statement said the Crawford County Sheriff’s Department said they responded to a Bourbon residence for a report of a firearm being discharged during an argument.

Caltry told deputies that a “suspicious vehicle” drove down his private, dead-end drive. Two male occupants stopped in front of the house and Caltry approached them.

The occupants had received permission to fish at a lake, but turned down the wrong road. 

The conversation between the parties escalated. The occupants drove away, but Caltry followed them in his truck and fired a shot in the air from outside his vehicle.

Caltry told deputies he thought the occupants were “tweakers casing his place.”