A 26-year-old man in Green Bay who was hit with a Taser three times and bitten by a police dog was sentenced to three years in prison for stealing a snowplow at knifepoint and other charges.
Brown County Judge William Atkinson sentenced Deacon Powless to the term, which he will begin serving in 2010, after he finishes another sentence after his probation was revoked.

Powless was accused of taking the Hobart village snowplow last April to escape police who were chasing him for an incident nearby. A police dog gave chase, the complaint said, and Powless allegedly wrestled the dog while he held an 8-inch kitchen knife.

Officers tried to use a Taser stun gun three separate times on Powless, but Powless managed to pull the darts from his chest each time and continue fleeing, once swinging the knife within a few feet of officers, the complaint said. He was also bitten by the dog.

Powless reached a Hobart-owned plow truck and asked the driver to stop. Powless allegedly yanked the truck's door open and ordered the driver out at knifepoint, according to the complaint.

The plow truck was found soon after in Eau Claire. But Powless wasn't caught for several months until officers received a tip he was visiting a home in Green Bay.

Atkinson, the judge, said he didn't think Powless was trying to hurt the officers, in the scuffle that ensued. But still he said the man's criminal record - five convictions in 10 years - showed he needed to go to prison.

Powless was sentenced for the April 12 snowplow incident and a battery case, in which he was accused of beating and choking an estranged girlfriend on New Year's Day.

He apologized in court for his actions.


WTKR NewsChannel 3: News, Weather, and Traffic in Hampton Roads and North Carolina | Man Tasered Three Times, Bitten By Dog After Police Chase On Snowplow

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