Thomas Treadway, 26, of 995 Bethel Road, Marietta, appears in Marietta Municipal Court Wednesday.

Harboring no animosity toward his alleged attacker, though still shaken by the assault that sent him to the hospital last week, David Murphy, 75, of Marietta, said he is keeping Thomas Treadway, 26, of 995 Bethel Road, Marietta, in his prayers.

“I don’t want to ruin his life because he was angry one day and made a mistake. I forgave him and I pray for him,” said Murphy following a hearing in Marietta Municipal Court Wednesday. “I trust the court system and I’ve been praying that he’ll straighten up before he hurts somebody else.”

On Wednesday Treadway appeared in court clean-shaven and dressed in a collared shirt and khakis to hear Judge Janet Dyar Welch’s decision on a renewed protection order against him for Murphy. Treadway is accused of hitting Murphy’s car last week in a road rage incident, then pulling the man from his car and beating him.

A second-degree felony charge of assault was dismissed pending next week’s expected grand jury in Washington County Common Pleas Court. The grand jury can indict Treadway on the charge.

He is also facing three misdemeanor charges for assault, a first-degree misdemeanor, possession of drugs, a fourth-degree misdemeanor,  and possession of drug paraphernalia, a minor misdemeanor, within the municipal court system but has no further scheduled hearings. The drug charges stem from marijuana allegedly found in his vehicle at the time of his arrest.

Welch granted the new protection order and told Treadway that the order would be added to the terms of his pretrial release from the Washington County Jail.

“Only the court can change this order,” explained Welch. “The victim cannot give you legal permission to violate it.”

Treadway didn’t speak at the hearing, other than to say that he understood the protection order.

Welch also noted that two firearms owned by Treadway, a 9-millimeter handgun and a .44 Magnum, had both been seized by Marietta police following Treadway’s arrest Nov. 9.

Following the hearing, Murphy explained the events of last week which led to the alleged assault.

He said he was on his way to church that morning, as he is a custodian at the Gilman United Methodist Church.

“I left at about 7:20 a.m and as I pulled out of my driveway I saw two pickup trucks come behind me,” he said. “As I got up to (Ohio) 676 and pulled up the stop sign and stopped, one of the trucks went left and headed south on (Ohio 676) and the other got up really close behind me on my bumper.”

As Murphy proceeded onto Ohio 676 headed toward Marietta, he said Treadway began driving more recklessly near the tail of his truck.

“When I got up at the career center, there were kids everywhere turning in and turning out on their way to school, so I slowed down because it’s a school zone. But as I slowed down he just kept getting closer and closer,” explained Murphy, who is retired from a career in law enforcement and with the U.S. Coast Guard.

He said Treadway continued to tailgate him and attempted to pass on a double yellow line

“He got angry and was yelling and cussing and sticking his finger up at me and being all mean and nasty, so I just drove the speed limit and ignored him….the next thing I know he sideswipes me with his truck and pulls in front of me,” he said. “It scared the heck out of me. I went from being upset to being afraid.”

In the chaos of the moment Murphy said his feet slid off of his brakes and he tapped Treadway’s truck by accident with his own. He said he then started to get out to assess the damage to his vehicle when Treadway grabbed him by the shirt and dragged him out of his truck.

“He hit me with his fist and busted my ear open and then, because of my police training all I did was cover up and tried to stay close to his body so he couldn’t get a full swing in,” Murphy explained. “He beat me all on my back and my shoulders, then he threw me against the side of his truck. My head bounced off the side of his truck and I landed along the double yellow line and there was a young woman, my angel, who stopped and screamed at him and said she was going to call the cops. When she said that he just walked over to his truck and drove away. He never said a word to me.”

Treadway was arrested at the Marietta water treatment plant where he works that afternoon after police linked witness descriptions of his appearance and a partial license plate number to him. He posted bond and was released from jail.

Murphy was transported via ambulance to Marietta Memorial Hospital for his injuries. He received a CAT scan and was put on a blood pressure monitor for about three hours until his blood pressure lowered.

“I haven’t really slept or been calm since,” said Murphy as he choked back tears on Wednesday. “I retired here in Marietta because I wanted to spend my last years in peace and sit on the deck to watch the birds. But I’m sure the Lord has a reason for it, any time there’s trials and tribulations he tells us to use it as a time for joy because it teaches you to be tempered in God’s will.”

At a glance

≤ Thomas Treadway, 26, of 995 Bethel Road, Marietta, faces three misdemeanor charges following an alleged assault Nov. 9.

≤ A fourth charge of felonious assault was dismissed Wednesday in anticipation of an indictment before grand jury next week.

≤ No further court proceedings are scheduled.

Source: Times research.