A father and son who beat a man on the side of a road have been sentenced to community control.
Gary Brown, 61, and Tyler Brown, 30, both appeared Dec. 13 in the courtroom of Wood County Common Pleas Judge Matt Reger.
They were indicted in July for felonious assault, a second-degree felony, after they caused serious physical harm to another man.
Both pleaded guilty in October to the amended charge of aggravated assault, a fourth-degree felony.
According to statements made by Wood County Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Brian Boos at the plea hearing, police responded on March 12 to an emergency call at Weston Road and Hancock Wood County Line Road and spoke with a bystander who observed two men punching and kicking a man who was on the ground.
The two suspects, later identified as the Browns, got in their vehicle and drove away.
The suspects acknowledged the physical altercation but claimed the victim swung first and said they left as soon as he fell to the ground.
Both men are formerly of Fostoria and now living in Bryan.
Tyler Brown’s defense attorney Steve Callejas asked for community control and said his client has taken responsibility for his actions.
It was a case of road rage, and “there’s no doubt what my client did was wrong. He hurt someone with this kind of behavior,” Callejas said.
The victim passed the two men in his vehicle and pushed their vehicle into a ditch. The Browns then got in front of the victim’s vehicle and stopped it. The victim exited the vehicle and swung at Gary Brown, who ducked. He hit Tyler Brown instead.
Tyler Brown said spending time in jail has allowed him to get sober.
“If you’re not learning, you’re not growing,” said Tyler Brown.
Boos said the victim did not provide witness statement and did not ask for restitution. The victim suffered a brain bleed due to the altercation, Boos said.
Reger imposed a sentence of two years of community control and 150 hours of community service.
Kent Sobran, who defended Gary Brown, said due to a physcial condition that his client’s has, he doesn’t look for trouble.
“Things got carried away. Split second decisions were made,” Sobran said.
He also asked for community control, and added he didn’t think the situation would ever repeat itself.
“It was not a good day,” Gary Brown said.
He also was sentenced to two years of community control.
