Decatur Man Who Threatened Ex-Girlfriend Sentenced To Jail

MARIETTA, GA -- A Decatur man will spend the next 20 years in jail after being convicted of a 2015 Cobb County aggravated assault.

Richard Hightower, 45, was convicted of two counts of aggravated assault, criminal damage to property, and one count of striking an unattended vehicle.

On March 15, 2015, Hightower sent a series of harassing messages to a woman who broke up with him. He then confronted her in her vehicle at the Georgian Arms apartments on Beech Road in Marietta, and rammed both ends of her vehicle. He then twice rammed another vehicle, whose owner was inside, and later hit a third, unoccupied vehicle.

“This defendant was about control and power, and when she dared break up with him, he turned to rage,” assistant district attorney Julianna Peterson told jurors. “All along, his intent was to harass, intimidate and threaten.”

Hightower was sentenced to 25 years, with 20 years to serve in prison without the possibility of parole, followed by the balance on probation.

Patch's Tim Darnell contributed to this report.