Arrest warrant issued for Troy man accused of assaulting his partner

Nov. 29—An arrest warrant was issued for a Troy man after he failed to appear for a court hearing for consecutive weeks.

Caleb Brian Kelso, 33, is accused of attacking a girlfriend at a campground near Bull River Road earlier this fall.

Kelso was arraigned on Oct. 7 on a charge of assault on a partner or family member, third offense. He pleaded not guilty and was released on his own recognizance after a hearing on November 12.

However, Kelso missed the pretrial conference on November 18. His attorney, public defender Ben Kolter, said Kelso likely did not receive notice of the hearing. He requested a continuation, and assistant district attorney Lauren O’Neill had no objection.

But when Kelso missed a second consecutive hearing on November 25, O’Neill requested a warrant for his arrest, and District Judge Matt Cuffe granted the request.

According to county dispatcher Luke Hauke’s account in the charging document, he received a report of a domestic incident on Keeler Rattle Road while at the scene of the crash on Sept. 15.

Once there, he spoke with U.S. Forest Service law officer Will Chambers and the alleged victim, a 25-year-old woman. Chambers said when he saw the woman walking down the road, she had a bloody nose and blood on her clothes. He waved to get her attention and reported the alleged assault, which had occurred approximately 40 minutes earlier.

Hauke ​​spoke with the woman, who said her nose hurt and had a “crunchy” sensation and sound after Kelso allegedly hit her. He also said that when he woke up in his trailer there was a bee in his hair and he stood up. “Caleb started cursing at me, calling me names and telling me to take the swear words out of my trailer.”

The woman, who was trying to collect her belongings, said Kelso pushed her, came at her and hit her on the nose. She also said the man grabbed a hammer and yelled at her to leave or said, “I’m going to knock your (expletive) head off.”

Hauke ​​also saw a mark on his neck that he said was a mark from Kelso allegedly throwing a circular object at him.

Hauke ​​then went to the camper and talked to Kelso. The defendant said the woman started fighting and started screaming. He said that when they couldn’t find cat food to feed the kittens, they fought about it.

Kelso has a 2015 conviction for negligent endangerment, according to court records. A case of assault on a partner or family member was also dismissed in 2018. He was sentenced to prison in a state facility after violating parole.

A conviction for assault on a partner or family member can result in a five-year prison sentence.