The father of a slain Fort Dodge man faces criminal charges for rushing toward his son’s killer, setting off a short courtroom melee during an April 15 sentencing hearing.

Edward E. Brown, 55, of 917 11th Ave. S.W., was arrested by Webster County sheriff’s deputies and charged with first degree harassment and disorderly conduct for his actions during the sentencing hearing for Quanterious L. Altman, 19, of Fort Dodge.

The hearing resulted in Altman being sentenced to a maximum of 35 years in prison for killing Adrian L. Grover, 18, of Fort Dodge, on May 13, 2023, plus two crimes Altman was convicted of before Grover’s death.

Altman shot Grover in the chest with a handgun at about 2:45 a.m. May 13, 2023, in the 1000 block of 10th Avenue Southwest, according to court records.

Iowa law allows survivors of homicide victims to make victim impact statements during a sentencing hearing.

Brown’s outburst occurred during his victim impact statement.

He walked to the witness stand at the front of the courtroom carrying a poster-size photo of Grover wearing his graduation gown. He began a short profanity-laced statement. Suddenly, Brown put the photo down, stood up and began walking toward Altman. Friends and relatives of both Altman and Grover jumped to their feet and moved toward the front of the courtroom. Altman was hustled out of the room by a jailer, while other jailers, Webster County sheriff’s deputies and Fort Dodge police officers moved in to separate everyone.

In a criminal complaint filed against Brown, Sgt. Joshua Van Waes of the Webster County Sheriff’s Office wrote “During the proceedings, the defendant told the victim multiple times he was going to kill him.”

Van Waes wrote that Brown proceeded to “storm toward the victim in the courtroom.”

Brown made his initial appearance in Webster County Magistrate Court Monday. According to court records, he waived his right to a preliminary hearing on the charge of first degree harassment. That means the case will proceed to arraignment and trial.

Magistrate Sarah J. Livingston issued a no contact order, which directs Brown to have no contact with Altman or his family. By violating the order, he would risk arrest again.

Court action on the disorderly conduct charge was postponed for 180 days, In cases in which people face multiple charges it is common to postpone action on the lesser ones until the serious charges are resolved.