On Thursday, December 15, 2016, SKYLAR L. BAIR, d/o/b 1-24-1995, of Hollister, was sentenced to seven (7) years in prison for the crime of assault in the second degree – with an opportunity to complete a four-month drug treatment program in prison – by Taney County Circuit Court Judge Laura Johnson. Bair had assaulted a woman while drinking on Halloween night in 2015, until a neighbor overheard the woman’s screams and pulled Bair off the woman. Bair pleaded guilty on August 18, 2016, to the assault, in which Bair punched the woman multiple times on the face and bit the woman on the arm, hip, and back. When Hollister Police arrested Bair, his blood-alcohol level tested at .298%.

Bair had no agreement with the Taney County Prosecutor’s Office on his sentence, because Bair had failed to appear at his November sentencing date.  At sentencing, the victim of the assault asked Judge Johnson to consider incarceration with substance abuse treatment, so Bair might not assault anyone in the future. The maximum sentence for the class C felony of assault in the second degree is seven (7) years in the Missouri Department of Corrections and/or a $5,000.00 fine.