Plaza Towers owner arrested after incident that left woman with serious injuries

The owner of Plaza Towers is facing three felony counts of domestic assault and one count of kidnapping after being arrested Sunday.

Marco Denis is the registered agent listed on the Secretary of State business database for the Springfield Property LLC, a company providing retail and commercial rental space across Springfield, including Plaza Towers on the corner of East Sunshine Street and Glenstone Avenue.

According to court documents, Denis faces four felony counts after strangling, striking, kidnapping and pulling the hair of a victim with whom Denis had been in a relationship. The probable cause statement recounts two witnesses were at the intersection of Battlefield Road and Lone Pine Avenue when they saw the passenger side door of a car stopped at the light open and the victim's legs kicking out of the door frantically. Denis allegedly tried pulling the woman back into the car by pulling her hair and one witness also recounted seeing him choke the victim.

The victim was able to break free from Denis and the two witnesses drove her to Springfield Police Department headquarters. Police said the victim was taken to Mercy Hospital with severe injuries. Officer responding to the assault noted the victim was in extreme pain, had multiple injuries, including scratches and bruises, on her arms, head, face, neck and legs, had a black left eye, had internal bleeding in the brain and her left ear drum had ruptured, according to court documents.

Police said the victim believed Denis had been stalking or tracking her as he would show up randomly throughout town. As documented in the probable cause statement, the victim recounted Denis driving them to Kimberling City, where his boat was docked, driving her to a secluded cove, and repeatedly assaulting her and throwing her into the water. She said she lost consciousness three times due to blows from Denis, according to the probable cause statement.

Upon returning to the dock, the victim recounted Denis calling his attorney and told him that the boat turned too fast and both Denis and the victim fell down and were injured, which she believed was to set up an alibi.

Wednesday morning, Denis pleaded not guilty to all four felony counts. He is facing two counts of class B felony of domestic assaults in the first degree, one count of class E felony of domestic assault in the third degree and class B felony of kidnapping in the first degree.

Denis is currently being held at Greene County Jail with no bond. A bond hearing is scheduled for Thursday morning.

Marta Mieze covers local government at the News-Leader. Have feedback, tips or story ideas? Contact her at mmieze@news-leader.com.