It took a Texas jury only five minutes to decide to send a man to jail for using his electric wheelchair as a weapon outside a middle school.
John Alfred Petersen was sentenced to one year in a state jail on Thursday, July 22, for repeatedly ramming a car waiting in the pickup line at Crockett Intermediate School in Paris, Texas, The Paris News reported.
Petersen caused $3,000 worth of damage before parents at the school intervened. He was found guilty of felony criminal mischief.
It's unclear why Petersen was a the middle school to begin with, but this isn't the first time he used his wheelchair to harass drivers. He was on probation for a "similar episode of vandalism" that happened in December 2018.
During the sentencing portion of the trial, Petersen's attorney Clay Johnson asked Petersen if he felt any remorse for his actions after he as found guilty. Petersen said "no."
“The jury’s verdict and 1 year sentence show that our community is sick of Petersen’s repeated vandalism and harassment of drivers,” Assistant District Attorney Nick Stallings told the paper.
Petersen is awaiting trial for another criminal mischief charge for an incident that happened in January 2021.