UPDATE 3/20/23 — Hubler pleaded not guilty to the counts against him on Nov. 1. He has a pre-trial conference scheduled for 9 a.m. on May 11.

Original story, published Oct. 31, 2022

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — A Springfield man was arrested after allegedly beating his neighbor with a piece of wood while people watched and filmed him.

Dustin David Hubler, 27, of Springfield was arrested and formally charged with one count of felony assault on Oct. 28.

According to a police report, officers were called to East Commercial Street to respond to an assault. Upon arrival, they found the caller and victim with multiple lacerations on his head, arms, and torso. The 62-year-old victim told officers that Dustin and his father lived next door to him in a duplex.

The victim said that Hubler’s father opened his door and Hubler approached with a piece of wood. The victim grabbed a bat and told Hubler to get off of his property. Hubler allegedly said he was going to kill the victim and began to beat the victim with the piece of wood until it broke. He said Hubler grabbed another piece of wood and continued to hit him, estimating that he was struck around 50 times.

The police report said Hubler then grabbed his dog and left the victim’s home. He said his dog ran inside the victim’s apartment and he was trying to get it.

Two people were sitting across the street. One began to record the assault and the retrieval of the dog on his phone.

Hubler’s father said he didn’t see any of the fight because he was asleep. Officers told him that in the recording the people across the street took, they could see him standing at the door, watching the fight and doing nothing. Hubler’s father said that he was only there to break up the fight. Later, he took a bat from his home and showed it to the officers, telling them that the victim attacked Hubler with it. Hubler’s father said he did see his son hit the victim a couple of times but did not see the fight. The report said police stopped talking to him because he was “talking in circles.”

During the arrest, Hubler told officers he was protecting himself from the victim. Hospital staff told officers that the victim probably had a broken arm and minor head injuries. Hubler has a history of being involved with domestic violence, according to the probable cause statement.