Road rage assault convict sentenced

LITCHFIELD - The 58-year-old man who attacked two people last November in a road rage incident on U.S. Highway 12 west of Grove City was sentenced Thursday in Meeker County District Court to 10 years of probation and a total of 63 months of prison time was stayed.
William Richard Dugan, of Grove City, was convicted of two felony counts of second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon, felony first-degree damage to property and misdemeanor fourth-degree damage to property.
Dugan pleaded guilty to these charges in August under a plea agreement to dismiss two other felony charges of first-degree attempted assault.
The terms of his 10-year probation include completing a chemical use assessment and mental health evaluation and follow the recommendations, taking medications as prescribed by a physician, not using alcohol or drugs, providing an apology, paying restitution to and having no contact with the victims.

He received a “downward departure” - a less severe sentence than that recommended in sentencing guidelines. A document from the Meeker County Attorney, Anthony Spector, outlined why the state was not opposed to the less severe sentence.
The letter stated that Dugan has made progress and is now “a person who might benefit from supervised and closely monitored probation as opposed to incarceration in prison.”
However, the letter also stated that the prosecution believes Dugan must pay the price for attacking two innocent people.
“Mr. Dugan violently assaulted two victims who did nothing to deserve his onslaught,” according to the prosecution’s document. “This was a very serious assault for which Mr. Dugan must be held accountable.”
According to the criminal complaint in the case, Meeker County sheriff’s deputies spoke with a man and woman who said they were victims of Dugan’s attack. Dugan had parked in the middle of the highway, saying he was looking for his dogs.
After the man and woman tried to drive around Dugan’s vehicle and there was a collision, they reported that Dugan yelled racial slurs at the man, bit him and attacked him with a two-by-four with nails protruding from it.
After the man broke away from Dugan, the two retreated to their vehicle. Dugan then entered his pickup truck and rammed it into the man’s vehicle, causing it to slide into the ditch.
As the couple tried to escape the attack, Dugan reportedly continued to chase them, strike them with his pickup truck and scream racial slurs.