Shane Olson, who spent last summer lobbying the county board of supervisors for an ordinance prohibiting unmuffled engine brakes on trucks, has been charged with a felony and two misdemeanors for allegedly shooting at a truck as it passed his rural home.
Olson, 41, of Churdan was charged in Greene County district court with intimidation with a dangerous weapon to provoke fear, a class C felony; assault while displaying a dangerous weapon, an aggravated misdemeanor; and criminal mischief- third degree, a serious misdemeanor.
According to a court document, John Paul Fielder, also of Churdan, reported hearing two gunshots after he drove a semi tractor-trailer past Olson’s home June 17 at 12:20 pm. Fiedler pulled off the road about 400 yards south of Olson’s home and found bullet holes in the trailer and tires.
Greene County chief deputy Jack Williams found an old bullet hole in the trailer, a bullet in the rear inside tire and a hole left by a bullet going through a mud flap. Williams determined from the angle of the bullets that they had been shot from Olson’s home. Olson’s alibi for his whereabouts at the time the shots were fired didn’t not hold up, according to the document.
Olson lives at Highway 4 and County Road P-29 eight miles north of Jefferson. Highway 4 curves sharply to become an east-west road headed toward Churdan, while P-29 continues north. There is a stop sign for southbound traffic on P-29 as it approaches southbound Highway 4. Olson lobbied the county supervisors unsuccessfully last summer for an ordinance against unmuffled engine brakes, saying the noise of the brakes had increased since he purchased the home and that it disrupted his family’s quality of life.
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