Larry Myers, a decorated Vietnam War combat veteran, was proud to have served his country, even after the effects of Agent Orange riddled his body with cancer and other ailments.
Myers, 79, was on his way to one of those treatments in late June when he was involved in a minor collision on a southern Minnesota highway — a collision that prosecutors say triggered a fit of rage that ended in his unexplained brutal assault.
Seriously injured, Myers was hospitalized and eventually placed on life support. But he did not recover and was removed. On July 6, the Faribault man died.
Leslie S. Sanders, 52, also of Faribault was charged last week in Rice County District Court with second-degree murder, and first- and third-degree assault in connection with the fatal beating June 27.
Sanders was jailed on assault charges soon after the attack and then released on bail. But he was returned to jail after the murder charge was filed and was being held Tuesday on $1 million bail.
Myers was first taken to a Northfield hospital, then transferred to HCMC in Minneapolis, where doctors found numerous broken facial bones and "a significant brain injury," the charges read.
"Due to the prognosis that [Myers] would not recover and his end-of-life instructions," according to the charges, "[he] was removed from life support and died."
Sanders' attorney, Jacob Birkholz, said Tuesday afternoon that his client has "no criminal history or history of violence."
Birkholz said the officer at the scene of the collision "did not hear Leslie's side of the story, even though he was cooperative at the time."
"I anticipate him talking about the [other] driver hitting him first," Birkholz said. "He popped him first. I anticipate raising a self-defense [claim]."
According to the charges, no one saw Myers strike Sanders.
Myers served in the Air Force from 1964 to 1968 and rose to the rank of staff sergeant while in Vietnam, his online obituary read. After leaving the military, he was active in the Veterans of Foreign Wars and a lifelong member of the American Legion.
"The worst part is, he was on his way to dialysis" when the fatal encounter occurred, said his son, Wayne Myers.
The U.S. military's use of the toxic defoliant Agent Orange during the Vietnam War "took a toll on his body" and played in a role in Larry Myers' prostate cancer, his son said.
"He never talked about the war," Wayne Myers said. "I just learned about one of his medals," the Air Force Commendation Medal, which he earned while providing ground support in a combat zone.
"Our dad was very proud to have served his country," daughter Jennifer Murphy said. "He was very humbled whenever he was thanked."
According to the criminal complaint:
Dundas Police Chief Todd Hanson said he arrived at the scene to find vehicles stopped and people standing in the median. He said he saw Sanders yelling at the crowd.
Witnesses told Hanson that Sanders got out of his "still rolling" pickup, approached the driver's side of an SUV and hit Myers numerous times. They did not see Myers try to strike Sanders.
Myers was able to tell Hanson that he was driving on Cannon City Boulevard about halfway between Faribault and Northfield when Sanders tried to pass him, then hit his SUV as he re-entered the lane.
An ambulance took Myers from the scene about 4½ miles to the north on Hwy. 3 in Dundas to a hospital. Sanders was arrested and jailed.
"In 29 years of criminal practice, I have never seen anything quite like this case," Rice County Attorney John Fossum said Tuesday. "The conduct of the defendant is inexplicable."
"The damage to the truck was not great," he said. "The damage to Mr. Myers' [SUV] was more severe."
Witness Jeff Elofson said he saw Sanders get out of his moving pickup and leave the door open.
"His truck went over an elevated median and into oncoming traffic ... into a ditch and started rolling down toward the gas station," Elofson said Tuesday.
He said Myers lowered his window and Sanders "just started swinging. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. It seemed like a good 10 seconds of him kind of swinging and punching."
He said other drivers who pulled over started screaming " 'You just assaulted that guy!' "
Wayne Myers said his father was especially fond of his cats, including Missy, who is now staying with Larry Myers' daughter.
"While he was in a coma, we'd tell the nurse to tell him Missy was OK," Wayne Myers said.
Per his wishes, family intends to spread Larry Myers' ashes on a reef off the shore of St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands, where his son lives.
"He never made it down here to visit me," Wayne Myers said. The ashes of a cat his father had years ago, Ti, will be scattered in the sea at the same time, the son said.
