TASHIA CURLEY, dob 11/24/1986 of Nixa, Missouri, entered a guilty plea today to the class A felony of assault in the first degree and the class C felony of felonious restraint, in front of Senior Judge John Waters.

On July 26, 2016, during a house party at a residence off of Hall Drive in Branson, Missouri, TASHIA CURLEY got mad at a partygoer and proceeded to assault her with a bat. The victim was struck in the head multiple times by CURLEY and suffered lacerations, bruising and facial trauma. After the assault, CURLEY and an accomplice dragged the victim to a Chevrolet Suburban and held her against her will. Two eyewitnesses observed CURLEY driving the Suburban towards Branson on State Highway 76 while dragging the victim on the pavement from a passenger door. CURLEY and her accomplice were later located at a residence in Springfield, Missouri, where they fled from law enforcement.  The Chevrolet Suburban was later recovered from a residence in Ozark, Missouri, and processed for evidence by the Taney County Sheriff’s Department.

“This was a horrific act of inexcusable violence and without the hard work and tenacity of Detective Shane Keys and other members of the Taney County Sheriff’s Department – in securing all of the incriminating evidence – we would not have been able to secure a successful plea of guilty today,” said Taney County Prosecuting Attorney Jeffrey M. Merrell.

Formal sentencing in this matter is set for June 27, 2017, at 9:00 a.m. The range of punishment for a class A felony is imprisonment in the custody of the Missouri Department of Corrections for a term of years not less than ten (10) years and not to exceed thirty (30) years, or life imprisonment. The class C felony of felonious restraint has a maximum penalty of seven (7) years in the Missouri Department of Corrections and/or a $5,000.00 fine. Under the terms of the plea, TASHIA CURLEY faces a maximum punishment of life imprisonment for the assault and felonious restraint.