Murphys man nabbed in alleged assault

A 48-year-old man was arrested Monday night on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon after he allegedly tried to run over another man and a young girl in Murphys.

Calaveras County Sheriff’s deputies responded at about 5:50 p.m. to the area of Highway 4 and Tanner Street for a fight involving two men.

Kenneth Peterson, of Murphys, had apparently told Glenn Johnson, of Angels Camp, to remove his cattle from the property on the 400 block of East Highway 4, so the two agreed to meet at the location, according to a Sheriff’s Office report.

A fist fight ensued between the two men on the shoulder of Highway 4, and witnesses said that Johnson eventually got into his vehicle and drove toward Peterson and a juvenile girl in an attempt to run them over, the report stated.

According to the Sheriff’s Office, witnesses at the scene said Johnson came within inches of hitting them. Peterson reportedly dodged the vehicle by jumping over a fence, while the girl hid behind a telephone pole.

Peterson and the girl were not injured during the incident.

Deputies later went to Johnson’s residence on the 600 block of Stanislaus Avenue in Angels Camp and were told by a passerby that a man ran from the rear of the house toward Mark Twain Elementary School.

The deputies were able to track down the suspect who they identified as Johnson and took him into custody without further incident.

Johnson later admitted to getting in a mutual fight with Peterson, but denied trying to run him and the girl over with his vehicle, the Sheriff’s Office said.

He was booked into Calaveras County Jail where he remained in custody Tuesday on $40,000 bail.