By Jessie Stensland

jstensland@whidbeynewsgroup.com

Police arrested a 70-year-old Coupeville man on March 28 for allegedly assaulting a neighbor by driving a motorized trike over his foot, according to court documents.

A report by a deputy with the Island County Sheriff’s Office indicates that the trike-related incident was the culmination of a longstanding feud between neighbors.

William R. Gilbert appeared in Island County Superior Court March 29 and the judge found there was probable cause to believe he committed the crime of assault in the second degree, which is a felony. His was released on his recognizance.

Gilbert told the investigating deputy that running over his neighbor’s leg was an accident, and he was just trying to block him from stepping onto his property, the report states.

The neighbor, who is also 70 years old, claimed that Gilbert deliberately ran over his foot and leg with the motorized trike while he was installing a fence post. Gilbert allegedly told the man, “I told you to get off my property.”

A video taken by another neighbor appeared to show that the act was willful and deliberate, the deputy wrote.

An ambulance took the man to the hospital. He reportedly suffered injuries to his ankle, which was swollen. The report doesn’t indicate how serious the injury was.

The injured man explained to the deputy that the two next-door-neighbor families had been feuding for a long time, which was part of the reason for installing the fence. He claimed Gilbert had been harassing him while he was building the fence, accusing him of trespassing, the report indicates.