4-month jail term for driver’s road rage attack in Lakeville that left victim permanently disabled

A 63-year-old man was given a four-month jail term and probation for severely beating a motorist following a Lakeville road rage incident, leaving the victim with permanent injuries.

David G. Beckett, 63, of Corvallis, Mont., was sentenced in Dakota County District Court after pleading guilty to third-degree assault in connection with the road rage incident on Oct. 27, 2021, behind a Walmart that left Mark K. Henderson, 68, of Burnsville, with a broken thigh bone that had to be reconnected with two metal rods, along with other injuries.

Judge Timothy McManus’ sentence includes three years’ probation and requires that Beckett receive anger management and psychological treatment, and not possess guns or explosives. As part of the plea deal, the County Attorney’s Office dropped a first-degree assault count.

Beckett was jailed immediately upon sentencing and will serve two months this year and then two months next year. If he remains compliant with the terms of his probation, he might be allowed to serve the second two months on electronic home monitoring.

Once he successfully completes probation, his conviction will be reduced from a felony to a misdemeanor.

Henderson is retired from the Air Force and has worked as a sheriff’s deputy in north-central North Dakota. He worked with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport and on the southern and northern U.S. borders.

“I’ve always prided myself on being kind and patient, with extensive experience in handling challenging situations,” Henderson told the court at sentencing. “I had no desire for conflict with Mr. Beckett; I merely wanted to de-escalate the situation calmly, drawing on my training.

“Unfortunately, Mr. Beckett made a deliberate choice that day to harm me, leaving me with a broken femur and abandoning me in a vulnerable state. Had I not managed to drag myself to a phone to call for help, the outcome might have been far worse.”

Henderson added that his health has steadily deteriorated since the attack, noting, “I now have issues with my speech, and my need for oxygen has become almost permanent. ... My back hurts more than it ever has, often leaving me bed-ridden. ... I struggle to walk even short distances due to the pain.”

Also speaking at sentencing was Sharon Henderson, who said of her husband, “The funny, joyful man I once knew is now a shadow of himself — sad and depressed, acutely aware that he has lost the best years of his life. ... The laughter and light that once filled our lives have been replaced by sorrow, a daily reminder of what we once had.”

According to the criminal complaint:

The day after the attack, Henderson told police an SUV was closely following him after he had exited Interstate 35 at W. 210th Street. After the two parked, the other driver confronted Henderson, yelled obscenities, accused him of cutting him off and threatened to beat him.

Beckett then ordered Henderson to go behind the Walmart, saying he wanted to be somewhere without surveillance cameras.

Henderson was with his mother-in-law and told her to go inside the store to get help.

Once behind the Walmart, Beckett punched Henderson in the chest. When Henderson raised his right leg to defend himself, Beckett pulled and twisted it. Henderson said he “felt his leg break” and as he fell to the pavement, Beckett “punched the top of [Henderson’s] head” and fled the scene.

Police released surveillance video from the front of the Walmart, and a tipster identified the suspect. He said he had been having business dealings with Beckett in Lakeville that week, including on the day of the assault.

Beckett had been staying at a Candlewood Suites hotel near the Walmart but canceled the room he had reserved on the day after the attack.

The hotel chain’s records showed Beckett reserving rooms on a route that eventually put him in Kentucky on Nov. 3. He was arrested south of Lexington in December.