A Brownsdale father and son were sentenced to 90 days in jail, stayed one year, and $600 in fines Wednesday for threatening two men who claimed they were repossessing a vehicle, then trying to run them off the road when they left.

Mark Ross Pearce, 50, and his son, 22-year-old Steven Ross Pearce, both pleaded guilty to the incident, which occurred Feb. 28.

According to a criminal complaint, a 32-year-old man and a 29-year-old man arrived at the Pearces’ 26511 610th Ave. residence at around 9:30 p.m. that day.

They began looking around with flashlights for the vehicle they were to repossess when a safety light switched on. At this point, the Pearces came out from a garage and began threatening the two men, according to the complaint.

The younger Pearce allegedly came forward with a German Shepherd dog while the older Pearce asked the men if they wanted to get bit. Mark Pearce also allegedly told Steven to go get a gun and threatened to shoot and kill both men.

The two men left on Interstate Highway 90 in their tow truck, but quickly noticed they were being followed, the complaint states. When the following vehicle got closer, they noticed it was Mark Pearce driving, and he was trying to side swipe them. The men were able to avoid the other vehicle and exit to a nearby truck stop.

When questioned by authorities later, Mark Pearce said that the two men claiming to be repossession agents in fact threatened him, the complaint states. He also said his dog was never aggressive toward them.

The younger Pearce concurred, and also said that he found it suspicious that anyone would come to repossess a car at such a late time.

However, both men said following the tow truck was the other’s idea.

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