Swisher man to serve probation, jail time for assaulting elderly driver

A Swisher man was sentenced last week in Johnson County District Court to a combination of jail time, probation and time in a halfway house for assaulting an elderly man in a road rage incident.

Brandon Poulson, 23, pleaded guilty to willful injury causing bodily injury and harassment for punching and injuring Bernard Brown, 70, last year because Brown was driving too slow March 27, 2010 in the 1400 block of Greencastle Road in Swisher.

Sixth Judicial District Chief Judge Patrick Grady made a compromise between the state's and defense's sentencing recommendations for jail time and treatment. He sentenced Poulson last Friday to three years probation for the willful injury charge, requiring one year be served in halfway house, so Poulson could receive treatment for anger issues. Poulson was also sentenced to 90 days in jail on the harassment charge.

Poulson, who had been drinking, began yelling and cussing at Brown for "driving like an old man," according to a police report. Brown pulled over to let Poulson pass and then Poulson pulled up beside him and got out of his truck. Brown then got out of his car and Poulson hit him in the head and face several times.

Brown suffered a large cut on the top of his head, above his left eye and had swelling and bruising to both ears, according to court records. The injury to his head and eye required stitches.

Poulson had a previous conviction in 2007 for an unusual assault charge, according to court records. He threw a dead cat through a McDonald's drive-through window near the Eastern Iowa Airport in 2006. Poulson was charged with simple assault and criminal trespass in that incident. He pleaded guilty and paid $130 in fines.