Jury trial set for man in Highway 12 assault

LITCHFIELD - An August jury trial was set Friday for a 57-year-old Grove City man charged with first-degree assault for allegedly chasing and attacking two people Nov. 19 along U.S. Highway 12 west of Grove City.
The trial for William Richard Dugan was set for Aug. 13 and 14 before District Judge Stephanie Beckman in Meeker County District Court. Pre-trial hearings were also set for July 14 and Aug. 11 in the case.
Dugan faces five felony charges of first- and second-degree assault and first-degree property damage, plus a misdemeanor for property damage for the incident. He also faces a charge of fourth-degree assault of a corrections officer for allegedly spitting on a Meeker County jailer after he was taken into custody. The jail assault case will track with the highway assault case, according to County Attorney Tony Spector.
As of Friday, Dugan remained in the Meeker County Jail on $500,000 unconditional bail and $250,000 conditional bail.
According to the criminal complaint, the assault incident began when Dugan parked his vehicle, blocking both lanes of Highway 12, while looking for his dogs. When a motorist attempted to drive around Dugan’s pickup, the vehicles collided. Dugan allegedly yelled racial slurs at the man, attacked him with a board with nails protruding from it and bit the man while they struggled on the ground.
Dugan allegedly then used his vehicle to chase the man and his female companion, who were on foot. Dugan also allegedly rammed the couple’s vehicle repeatedly, while yelling racial slurs.
He was arrested at the scene of the incident.