Charging documents describe earlier threats, an assault inside a truck and a disputed claim that the shooting was self-defense.

POTOSI, Mo. — A Washington County man is being held without bond after authorities accused him of repeatedly striking his pregnant girlfriend in the abdomen and shooting her in the back following threats directed at both the woman and her unborn child.

Nicholas Ray Geary, a Potosi resident born in 2006, is charged with first-degree attempted murder, first-degree domestic assault causing serious physical injury, unlawful use of a weapon by shooting at a person and armed criminal action. The charges stem from a July 2 encounter that brought sheriff’s deputies and detectives to a local hospital, where the woman was being treated for a gunshot wound. The allegations are contained in a probable cause statement and public accounts released by the Washington County Sheriff’s Office. Geary has not been convicted, and the available court information did not show that the allegations had been tested at trial.

The case began for investigators at the hospital rather than at the location where the gunfire occurred. Authorities said the woman arrived for treatment after a bullet entered and exited her back. Detectives interviewed her about the shooting and about what had happened between her and Geary before she was wounded. The sheriff’s office has not publicly identified the woman, disclosed how far along she was in her pregnancy or released detailed information about her condition. Later reports said she survived, but officials have not provided a full medical account of her injuries or the pregnancy.

According to the probable cause statement, the woman told investigators that Geary had made threats in the days before the shooting. She alleged that he had talked about shooting her in the stomach to kill the baby and then shooting her in the head. Investigators also alleged that on July 2, Geary struck her in the abdomen multiple times before using a .380-caliber handgun to shoot her in the back. Those accusations form a central part of the state’s case because they place the shooting within what authorities described as escalating violence rather than an isolated discharge of a firearm.

Geary gave investigators a different account of the gunfire. Authorities said he called 911 and reported that he had shot his girlfriend in self-defense. During a post-Miranda interview, he allegedly acknowledged firing at her but said he feared she might hurt him. When detectives asked what she had been doing that placed him in fear of death or serious injury, Geary said she was getting out of a truck and was known to carry knives, according to the probable cause statement. The documents cited in news reports do not say that investigators recovered a knife from the woman or that she displayed one during the encounter.

The direction of the wound is one fact investigators cited while presenting the allegations. The probable cause statement said the bullet struck the woman in the back and exited her body. Authorities also alleged that Geary fired more than once, although the publicly available reports do not specify the exact number of rounds or say whether additional bullets struck the truck, nearby property or any other object. No other injuries were reported. The available records also do not describe forensic testing, the distance from which the gun was fired or whether investigators collected cartridge casings.

The sheriff’s office said Geary reported discarding the firearm in a wooded area after the shooting. A local news report citing the agency said the gun had been thrown away, but officials did not publicly state whether it was recovered, where the wooded area was located or what testing, if any, was conducted on the weapon. The handling of the firearm is relevant to the unlawful-use and armed-criminal-action counts, but the precise evidence supporting each charge will be addressed through the court process rather than decided by the initial probable cause statement.

Authorities have released only a limited description of what preceded the alleged assault. Washington County Sheriff Scott Reed told a St. Louis television station that the couple had been inhaling an aerosol computer-cleaning product and that the resulting intoxication apparently contributed to the argument. According to that account, Geary became angry about the woman using the product while pregnant. That description came from law enforcement’s early investigation and has not been established as a finding in court. Officials have not released toxicology results or a complete timeline of the couple’s activities that day.

The woman reportedly told police that she did not want to pursue charges. In the probable cause statement, however, the investigating officer wrote that charges were necessary because of what the officer viewed as escalating violence and the danger to the woman and her unborn child. A victim’s reluctance does not by itself prevent Missouri prosecutors from filing a criminal case. Charging decisions are made by authorities based on the evidence they believe is available, although prosecutors still must prove every element of an offense beyond a reasonable doubt to obtain a conviction.

Reed said the circumstances required law enforcement action because violence can intensify when it is not addressed. Mary Ann Owens, chief executive of the Women’s Safe House in the St. Louis area, told a television station that official intervention can be important when victims do not wish to continue with a case. Their comments focused on the broader difficulty investigators and advocates face when a person who has reported violence later declines to support prosecution. Neither comment determines whether Geary committed the charged offenses, which remains a question for the judicial system.

Public reports said Geary had no previous criminal history or arrests known to investigators. That information may be considered during detention proceedings, but it does not resolve the competing accounts of the July 2 shooting. A no-bond warrant was issued, and Geary was booked into the Washington County Jail. The court listing identified the matter as case No. 26WA-CR00448. The available public reporting did not establish whether a judge has since reconsidered his detention status, whether he has entered a plea or whether an attorney has formally appeared on his behalf.

The four counts describe different alleged conduct and legal theories. The attempted-murder charge accuses Geary of taking a substantial step toward intentionally causing a death. The domestic-assault count concerns the alleged serious injury to a person with whom he had an intimate relationship. The unlawful-use charge relates to allegedly firing a weapon at another person, while armed criminal action applies when a dangerous felony is allegedly committed with a weapon. The filing of those charges represents an accusation, not proof that Geary acted with the required intent or committed each alleged act.

Investigators have not publicly answered several questions likely to become important as the case proceeds. It remains unclear where the truck was parked, who owned it, where Geary and the woman were positioned when the shot was fired and whether any independent witness saw the encounter. Officials have not released a recording of the 911 call, photographs of the scene, body-camera footage or the woman’s complete interview. The public record also does not indicate whether the defense will rely formally on self-defense or challenge the account attributed to Geary during questioning.

Because the victim has not been publicly named, officials have disclosed little about her recovery or the condition of the pregnancy. Reports published after the arrest said both the woman and unborn child survived, but the sheriff’s office has not provided a detailed medical update. Her decision not to be identified is consistent with the restrained handling of a private victim in a pending domestic-violence case. The allegations about threats toward the pregnancy remain part of the probable cause narrative and have not been separately adjudicated.

The sheriff’s office said its investigation remained active when it announced the arrest. Prosecutors may amend charges, disclose additional evidence or present the case at a preliminary hearing as the proceedings move forward. Until then, Geary remains accused of the offenses and is entitled to the presumption of innocence. No trial date or final case outcome had been publicly confirmed in the sources reviewed as of Sunday.

Author note: Last updated August 2, 2026.