Man accused of assault with intent to murder rejects plea offer 

March 6, 2024

Pulsipher

Man accused of assault with intent to murder rejects plea offer 

HART — A 57-year-old Hesperia man who faces a felony of assault with intent to murder rejected a plea offer in Oceana County’s 51st Circuit Court this week.

Joseph Owen Pulsipher, of 9430 E. Filmore Rd., remains lodged in the Oceana County Jail on a $250,000 bond. The charge stems from a violent encounter with another man over a woman.

“After discussing this matter with the victim, the defendant was offered the opportunity to plead to assault with intent to commit great bodily harm less than murder and serve a sentence to five to 10 years,” said Oceana County Prosecutor Joseph Bizon. “The defendant rejected this offer, and this is scheduled to proceed to trial on May 8, 2024.”

“(Pulsipher) was making allegations of an affair,” previously said Oceana County Sheriff Craig Mast.

The assault of the 64-year-old Hesperia man occurred, April 1, in the 6500 block of East M 20 in Newfield Township. 

“Deputies were dispatched to the residence, and the resident there said that a second gentleman pulled into the driveway and began an altercation that turned into a felonious assault with death threats,” said Sheriff Mast. 

Joseph Pulsipher appears in Oceana County’s 51st Circuit Court with his attorney Karri Russell during a hearing last October

“The suspect donned a knife. The victim defended himself by striking him several times during the altercation. After the physical altercation, the suspect got up from the ground; got into his van; and rammed the victim’s pickup truck. He rammed several times, and the victim had to jump out of the way to avoid being struck by the suspect’s vehicle on multiple occasions. The victim said he then proceeded to grab a baseball bat to defend himself. He did use the bat to break out the window of the van as the suspect was attempting to run him over.”

Both Pulsipher’s and the victim’s vehicles were damaged, and both men received medical treatment, said the sheriff. 

Pulsipher was treated at Trinity Health Shelby Hospital before being lodged in jail. The victim began complaining of chest pains and was evaluated by EMS at the scene and then transported for further treatment.

Support local news for $10 a month

We hope you enjoy reading Mason County Press and Oceana County Press. Our services are provided to you through the generous support of our advertisers. Traditional newspaper models require subscriptions or purchase of an individual newspaper in order to see their product. We do not, and will not, require our readers to pay a subscription. However, we have had many of our kind readers ask how they can support us if they were to make a monthly contribution. For those who would like to contribute, we are suggesting $10 a month.

This can be paid several ways:

The easiest way is to sign up for an automatic monthly payment on Paypal. Click this link.

Alternative methods:

  • We can send you an invoice each month, which you can conveniently pay online or by check. If you are interested in this method, please email editor@mediagroup31.com and we can sign you up. You can also mail a yearly check for $120 to Media Group 31, PO Box 21, Scottville, MI 49454.
  • We also accept Venmo payments.

We appreciate all our readers regardless of whether they chose to continue to access our service for free or with a monthly financial support.

This story and original photography are copyrighted © 2024, all rights reserved by Media Group 31, LLC, PO Box 21, Scottville, MI 49454. No portion of this story or images may be reproduced in any way, including print or broadcast, without expressed written consent.

As the services of Media Group 31, LLC are news services, the information posted within the sites are archivable for public record and historical posterity. For this reason it is the policy and practice of this company to not delete postings. It is the editor’s discretion to update or edit a story when/if new information becomes available. This may be done by editing the posted story or posting a new “follow-up” story. Media Group 31, LLC or any of its agents have the right to make any changes to this policy. Refer to Use Policy for more information.

Please consider helping to fund local news. Mason County Press and Oceana County Press are available for free thanks to the generous support of our advertisers and individuals. Three ways to help us: Venmo: @MasonCountyPress; Paypal: MasonCountyPress@gmail.com; Mail a check to PO BOX 21, Scottville, MI 49454. 

fb.com/stars

Area Churches

Eats & Drinks

Eats & Drinks