Groveton man found guilty of assault

By PAUL STONE

PALESTINE — A 59-year-old Groveton man was sentenced to three years in prison Wednesday by an Anderson County jury after being found guilty earlier in the day of assaulting a motorcyclist 17 months ago.

A seven-man, five-woman jury deliberated for approximately 75 minutes Wednesday afternoon at the Anderson County Courthouse before sentencing Joe Nathan Roblow, 59, of Groveton to three years in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice after finding him guilty of the felony offense of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

Although the defendant was probation eligible, Stanley Sokolowski, assistant district attorney for Anderson County, said the jury did not probate Roblow’s sentence, meaning the man will likely spend time in prison.

According to testimony during this week’s trial, Roblow assaulted a motorcyclist at the intersection of U.S. 287 and Loop 256 in April 2007 after the pair had been involved in some type of highway confrontation several minutes earlier near Elkhart.

Around mid-day on April 19, 2007, the alleged victim and another motorcyclist — who were both in their mid-to-late 60s — were traveling through Anderson County en route to Corsicana from their residences in Livingston, testimony showed during the trial.

At some point between Elkhart and Palestine, “a vehicle that Mr. Roblow was a passenger in cut them off,” with one of the motorcyclists leaving the roadway and the other forced to take the shoulder, according to Sokolowski.

No one was injured as a result of the evasive action.

Following the near mishap, one of the motorcyclists testified that “the people in the truck” directed an obscene gesture towards them as they drove past, according to the assistant district attorney.

“They (the motorcyclists) travel on into Palestine and the truck is in the left hand turn lane on Loop 256,” Sokolowski described. “He (one of the motorcyclists) yells at the guy, ‘Hey, you ran us off the road.’ At that point in time, he (the alleged victim) pulls up to the stop light and the next thing he sees is Mr. Roblow running up from behind him.

“He puts his kickstand down,” Sokolowski continued. “Mr. Roblow hits him with the back of his left arm in the back of the helmet and pushes his head down towards the motorcycle. He (the victim) says he sees a knife in Mr. Roblow’s right hand and he (the defendant) threatens to cut him up.”

Sokolowski said the assault was halted when the victim’s friend, who carries a concealed handgun license, “pulls out his handgun and trains it on Mr. Roblow.

“He (Roblow) jumps in the truck and they go left (onto the loop),” the assistant district attorney added.

The two motorcyclists continue to travel into Palestine where they stop and describe the incident to employees of a local business, according to Sokolowski.

The victim, who was not seriously injured, only filed a police report several days later after his son, who is a police officer in the Panhandle town of Dalhart, encouraged him to do so, the assistant district attorney continued.

Although the victim did not contact police on the day of the incident, a witness did report the incident to Palestine police on the same day, according to Sokolowski.

“They (local police) matched the report with the prior call for service...and matched Mr. Roblow to the case,” Sokolowski said.

Roblow, who has also resided in Fort Worth, was arrested on a warrant several months later, he added.

Roblow testified during his trial that the motorcyclist hit him with a penny while he sat in the truck at the intersection prior to the altercation. The defendant also denied being armed with a knife during the incident, while also indicating that the road rage incident began due to the motorcyclists’ erratic driving, according to the state.

Additionally, Roblow testified that he served in Vietnam and suffers from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.

“Mr. Roblow has his story,” Sokolowski said, “but the jury didn’t believe his story.”

The state maintained during the trial that Roblow was found guilty of assault (family violence) in 1995 and sentenced to 30 days in jail. Seven years earlier in 1988, he had received deferred adjudication on an assault charge during which he allegedly pulled a knife on a woman, according to Sokolowski.

Sokolowski said the jury’s punishment verdict “does send a message out there.

“I think the jury make an appropriate decision in punishing him that way,” the assistant district attorney stated.

Third State District Judge Mark Calhoon presided over the trial.

Roblow was represented by local attorney Bill House.

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Paul Stone may be contacted via e-mail at pstone@palestineherald.com

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