Michigan man enters plea in assault case involving a vehicle

A Michigan man has entered pleas to a pair of felonious assault charges related to a vehicle assault in Defiance County last year.

Garry Pond II, 37, Cassopolis, Mich., pleaded guilty in Defiance County County Common Pleas Court to two counts of felonious assault, each a second-degree felony.

A pre-sentence investigation was ordered and his bond was continued. Sentencing was set for 1:30 p.m. on May 8.

A charge of attempted murder, a first-degree felony, will be dismissed at sentencing as part of the plea agreement between Prosecutor Morris Murray’s office and Pond’s attorney, Jeffrey Horvath of Defiance.

The charges allege that on July 1 he struck an acquaintance — also from Michigan — with his vehicle on Defiance County’s Mansfield Road as they were passing through the area, according to Murray.

The victim sustained serious, but not “life-threatening” injuries, Murray had told The Crescent-News last year. He was briefly hospitalized after being transported by an EMS unit.