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PRICE — A Price man has been ordered to pay $8,000 in restitution to a cyclist he hit twice with his SUV.
Matthew Alan Thatcher must also pay a $1,000 fine and complete 36 months of probation as part of a sentence imposed Monday by Judge Douglas Thomas. Thatcher was given credit for 97 days he spent in jail while the case against him was pending, according to court records.
Thatcher, 43, was initially charged in 7th District Court with attempted murder, a second-degree felony. He pleaded guilty in June to aggravated assault, a third-degree felony.
In a court document filed as part of his plea, Thatcher admitted that he ran over a 33-year-old man with his Jeep Grand Cherokee in August 2014.
Thatcher continued to pursue the man as he tried to run away after the initial impact, police said. He ran the man over a second time, dragging him a short distance before driving away, investigators said.
The victim suffered serious injuries and had to be hospitalized.
Investigators later learned Thatcher and victim were involved in an ongoing property dispute. Thatcher saw the man riding a bicycle and "seized the opportunity to run the victim over," according to investigators.
