Official Found Guilty In Road Rage Incident

BARTOW | A jury found a Davenport city councilman guilty Thursday of reaching into a Jeep and grabbing a 19-year-old man by the throat during a road rage incident last year.

Jurors spent about 40 minutes deliberating before finding John Lepley guilty of battery and assault, both misdemeanors.

Polk County Judge Timothy Coon sentenced Lepley to a year of probation and 100 hours of community service. He must also write a letter of apology to the motorist, Brent Burns, and complete an anger management class.

Coon withheld adjudication, a formal finding of guilt, after considering Lepley's leadership position in the city and his lack of a criminal record.

Burns testified that he was driving home from work Oct. 17, 2007, when a black Crown Victoria sped up behind him.

Because he was going a little over the speed limit, Burns said, he thought it might be a police officer. However, the driver began to drive erratically, tailgating him and trying to get him to pull over.

Burns said he was suspicious that it wasn't a police officer and went to the police station.

After driving into the police station parking lot, Burns said, Lepley came over shouting, "Who do you think you are?" and "Do you know who I am?"

Burns said Lepley grabbed his throat. "He had just got a hold of me when I yelled," Burns said.

A few police officers came over to help break up the encounter. Some testified that Burns appeared scared, while Lepley appeared angry.

Photographs taken of Burns' neck showed some redness.

Lepley's lawyer, John Ligouri, suggested the marks could possibly be sunburn. He said Burns was a friend of a neighbor who has had ongoing disputes with Lepley.

Burns said he called this friend during the chase for advice and drove to the police station for help. He denied knowing that it was Lepley who was following him.

Assistant State Attorney Ricardo Alvarez asked Burns to provide details about how the pursuit, which lasted more than 20 minutes, took place.

"Did you somehow hitch your vehicle to his and just dragged it to the police station?" Alvarez asked.

"No sir," Burns said.

"So nobody forced him to follow you, is that correct?" Alvarez asked.

"That's correct," Burns answered.

Lepley took the witness stand to defend himself. He testified that he and his wife were the victims in the case.

He accused Burns of braking abruptly and driving dangerously. Lepley said when he attempted to pass that Burns sped up and almost forced him into oncoming traffic.

At one point, Lepley said, he turned on his car's hazard lights and put his arm out the window to wave the Jeep to pull over.

"I wanted to know what was going on," he said. "At that point, as far as I was concerned, someone was trying to kill me and my wife."

The Jeep's driver did not comply.

Both Lepley and his wife testified that they weren't able to use a cellular phone to call for help during the pursuit because there wasn't any cellular reception in that area. Instead, they said they followed at a safe distance to not lose sight of the Jeep and were planning to call once reception improved.

Under cross-examination, John Lepley would not agree that he was angry but used words like "cranky" and "a little hot."

He denied trying to choke Burns but insisted that he was trying to grab the wheel because he thought Burns was preparing to drive away.

"I was going to make a citizen's arrest," Lepley said.

He said when he reached for the wheel that Burns attempted to lie down in the seat.

"I guess to get away from me because he probably thought that I was going to do something," Lepley said. "He should have after the stunt he pulled."

[ Jason Geary can be reached at jason.geary@theledger.com or 863-802-7536. ]