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Man pleads not guilty to vehicle assault

Trial is scheduled for Aug. 10

Edward E. Brown

A Fort Dodge man accused of intentionally hitting a pedestrian with his vehicle in early May has pleaded not guilty to charges stemming from the incident.

Edward E. Brown, 52, was charged with attempted murder, a Class B felony; willful injury causing serious injury, a Class C felony; and assault with a dangerous weapon, an aggravated misdemeanor, after his arrest on May 8.

The Webster County Telecommunications Center received a call at approximately 5:15 p.m. on May 8 indicating that a pedestrian had been hit by a vehicle in the 10 block of North 10th Street. When officers and medics arrived they located 57-year-old James Altman, of Fort Dodge, laying on the sidewalk with “significant injuries.” Altman was transported to UnityPoint Health — Trinity Regional Medical Center by ambulance before being transferred to a Des Moines medical center for further treatment.

According to witnesses, a white Jaguar car was traveling northbound on North 10th Street and shortly behind, Altman was traveling northbound on foot.

At some point, the Jaguar, allegedly driven by Brown, turned around to head southbound at a high rate of speed and drove onto the sidewalk to hit Altman. Brown was still on the scene when officers arrived.

Court records show that while incarcerated at the Webster County Jail, Brown had several telephone calls that were monitored by law enforcement in which Brown said that if he had to do the actions of May 8 over again, he would aim to cause even greater injury to the victim.

Brown pleaded not guilty to the charges in a written arraignment on Monday. His trial is scheduled for Aug. 10. He is being held at the Webster County Jail on a $302,500 cash-only bond.

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