Driver who assaulted cop, harassed demonstrators at pro-Trump rally gets prison term
A Wichita man experiencing mental health and anger problems after his father died will serve 30 months in prison for trying to run over a Sedgwick County courthouse police officer checking out a complaint about an erratic driver harassing demonstrators at a pro-Trump rally in downtown on Nov. 22, 2020.
Justin Young, 33, was arrested and charged with aggravated assault of a law enforcement officer after he drove a Toyota Tundra truck directly at Officer Stephen Linarez outside of the Historic County Courthouse at 510 N. Main in Wichita.
Linarez became involved in the ordeal after a demonstrator flagged him down to complain that a man had been driving the wrong direction on the one-way street, blowing through red stop lights, making u-turns and attempting “to hit several rally members,” according to an arrest affidavit released by a judge last fall.
When Linarez asked Young to move the truck, he refused and sped off, only to flip around and head back toward the gathering, the affidavit says. While Linarez was on the phone with 911, asking for backup from other officers, Young “suddenly stopped the truck, put it in drive, and drove directly towards him,” the affidavit states.
Linarez ran several steps to avoid being hit and feared for his safety, according to the document.
Young’s erratic tirade continued at the intersection of Central and Main, where he drove onto a handicap ramp, nearly crashed into a memorial honoring fallen law enforcement officers outside of City Hall, shouted at the rally crowd and laid on the truck’s hood, the affidavit says.
He hood-surfed “down the windshield” when a deputy told him to get down, the affidavit states. He was arrested after he eventually relented.
Young pleaded guilty to an amended assault charge on Dec. 17. His lawyer, in a written motion filed ahead of the Feb. 8 sentencing hearing, argued that Young should be placed on probation instead of going to prison because he had been “suffering from diagnosed mental illness that was exacerbated by the passing of his father” within days of the rally and because he had received mental health treatment from Sedgwick County Jail medical staff after his arrest.
“Mr. Young intends to continue to seek mental health treatment and acknowledges the need for appropriate programs to address any anger or mental health concerns,” the lawyer wrote.
Prosecutors also recommended probation, according to Young’s plea agreement.
But Sedgwick County District Judge Eric Williams disagreed and imposed the 30-month prison sentence, according to court records and the district attorney’s office.
