A Griffith man got two years probation Thursday for a February 2023 road rage incident in Griffith.
Jason Labadie, 41, pleaded guilty in December to criminal confinement, a Level 5 felony.
Lake County Sheriff’s Deputy Ryan Kovacik said he was getting breakfast with other officers around 7:30 a.m. Feb. 23, 2023 at the Corner Cafe in Griffith.
Right outside, near the Broad and Main Street intersection, he saw Labadie cut off and block another driver, then get out with “clenched fists” to angrily confront George Tagler, who was taking his son to school.
Just before, the other driver said he inadvertently stopped Labadie from passing him.
“What the (expletive),” Labadie yelled. “Get out of the car!”
Labadie pounded the driver’s side window with his hand. When a car in another lane pulled off, Labadie hit the car again with his hand when the man pulled away.
During his arrest, Labadie screamed at the officer.
“Let go of me,” he said. “Shut the (expletive) up.”
Tagler testified briefly Thursday that his son, then 12, was left “visibly shaken” and didn’t want to play for awhile in their front yard.
Deputy Prosecutor Judy Massa noted Labadie’s actions had “unintended consequences,” leaving the child “traumatized by what happened.”
Labadie had traffic tickets and a since-dismissed reckless driving charge, she said.
Defense lawyer Tom Mullins said his client’s five-day jail stint “opened his eyes.”
Labadie apologized to Tagler, saying it “took a big toll on my life,” and he was “deeply sorry for the trauma I caused your son.”
Judge Gina Jones ordered lawyers to add defensive driving and anger management as conditions of his plea deal. He will also have to do the Moral Reconation Therapy outlined in his original plea.
Jones said the MRT was just “fluff” — counseling to tell right from wrong, which someone at his age should already know.
“I hear your remorse,” she told Labadie. However, this was his first time being legally held accountable for his actions.
“It is not going to happen again in this court,” she said. “Do you understand?”
She warned Labadie if he got a new case, he would spend his probation in jail.
“Don’t do this anymore,” Jones said. “Learn the lesson.”
