The Arizona Presiding Disciplinary Judge has suspended an attorney convicted of a felony offense.

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Vernon Peltz pleads guilty to reduced charges in a fray over a speed bump.

A local lawyer, accused of assaulting a police officer who tried to stop him from using a pickax to destroy a neighborhood speed bump, was sentenced yesterday to three years of probation.

Vernon Edward Peltz, 40, is a former Tucson city prosecutor now in private practice.

He originally was charged with aggravated assault on a police officer – which would have carried a mandatory seven-year prison sentence – and felony criminal damage.

Peltz pleaded guilty to reduced charges, criminal damage and endangerment, as part of a plea agreement.

Peltz removed the speed bump from an easement in his Catalina neighborhood in March and allegedly assaulted a neighbor – Mark Cassell – who happened to be a police officer.

Both charges were designated as misdemeanors.

Though he had intended a probation sentence for the lawyer, Judge Robert Donfeld, of Pima County Superior Court, said he almost sentenced Peltz yesterday to six months in jail because of his attitude.

“I’m treating you as I would any other defendant,’ Donfeld told the lawyer. “Quite frankly, I’m shocked you’re putting me in this position to put you in jail.’

Donfeld scolded Peltz for his lack of remorse and warned him, “Don’t try your civil matter in this sentencing.’ The judge was referring to a lawsuit Peltz’s brother has filed against four neighbors who placed the speed bump on an easement close to their properties.

After taking a break to discuss matters with his lawyer, at the judge’s insistence, Peltz came back inside the courtroom and apologized to Donfeld.

“I am no way indicating that you should give me jail (time) instead of probation,’ Peltz said and added that he is sorry about what happened six months ago.

If sent to jail, Peltz said he wouldn’t know how he could take care of his clients.

“Up until he jumped at me in my truck and scared me, all I had done is remove a speed bump,’ Peltz said, attempting to tell the judge what happened between him and Cassell.

The incident erupted during an ongoing dispute among residents in the area over the speed bump on an easement known as Empty Wash Road.

Four residents wanted the speed bump to slow down traffic, but other neighbors didn’t and had an agreement to keep the easement clear of obstructions, according to Peltz’s lawyer, Joseph St. Louis.

According to a presentence report prepared for the court, Peltz started clearing the speed bump with a pickax on the afternoon of March 12, witnesses told police.

Cassell, who was in plain clothes, tried to stop him, and told his wife to call police.

While Peltz was driving away in his truck, Cassell had to jump on the hood of the truck to keep from being dragged away, he later told investigators.

Peltz drove in reverse for about 300 feet, nearly hitting a tree, according to court records. That led to the original charge against Peltz of aggravated assault on a police officer.

Peltz stopped the truck and Cassell arrested him, handcuffing him with cheap handcuffs, according to the court records.

Marana police and Pima County Sheriff’s deputies soon arrived, and police reported that Peltz smelled of alcohol at the time, the records say.

St. Louis said the case wouldn’t have gone this far and Peltz wouldn’t have been charged if Cassell were not a police officer.

Deputy County Attorney Charlene LaPlante told the judge that probation instead of jail would serve Peltz better.

As a condition of his probation, the lawyer was required to have no contact with Cassell and his family, and to attend alcohol and anger counseling.

He also was barred from traveling down Empty Wash Road by bicycle, motorcycle, truck or car, and has agreed to that condition.

He was ordered to pay Cassell $380 in restitution for the cost of the speed bump.

The suit is pending in Pima County Superior Court to determine whether a speed bump should be allowed on Empty Wash Road.