PHILLIPS — A local man is accused of assaulting a woman Monday and ramming the back of a vehicle she was riding in with his vehicle at about 50 miles per hour, Sheriff Scott Nichols Sr. said Monday.

John Pillsbury, 49, of Phillips appeared in District Court on Monday on two felony charges — domestic violence/reckless conduct with a weapon and reckless conduct toward other occupants in the vehicle, as well as a misdemeanor charge of domestic violence assault.

Franklin County sheriff’s deputies Kevin Hartley and Colt Sleaster investigated and made the arrest.

“I am concerned a lot about the use of a (vehicle) to ram the other vehicle,” Assistant District Attorney Joshua Robbins told Judge Nancy Carlson.

He recommended $5,000 cash bail or a supervised pretrial contract.

He also suggested no use of alcohol, illegal drugs or weapons.

“At this point, I would not include the vehicle,” he said, though it had been used as a weapon.

Robbins said Pillsbury pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct in April.

Defense attorney Linda Sparks said Pillsbury has been a logger in the past, but he is not employed at this time. She suggested a pretrial contract and unsecured bail.

Robbins told the court that if contract supervisor Richard Simcock believed that Pillsbury qualified for a contract, he would go with that.

Carlson set bail at $5,000 cash or pretrial contract.

Nichols said prior to court that the woman and Pillsbury were sitting outside his house at Wheeler Hill Road in Phillips when he assaulted her. She took off on foot and called a boyfriend to pick her up.

When the boyfriend arrived, Pillsbury rammed the back of that vehicle, which had three people inside, including the woman.

Deputies responded and found the woman had been injured from an assault. She was taken by a NorthStar EMS ambulance to the hospital.

There was significant damage to the rear of the vehicle that was rammed, Nichols said.

dperry@sunjournal.com