The Associated Press
CARMEL, Ind. — Associates of a central Indiana legislator beaten over the weekend say a 1980s legal dispute might have triggered the attack.
Democratic Rep. Ed Delaney of Indianapolis was taken to a hospital for treatment of facial fractures and a broken rib after the attack Saturday in Carmel. Police officers arrested 38-year-old Augustus J. Mendenhall on attempted murder charges.
The Indianapolis Star reports DeLaney was among the attorneys involved in a legal fight after Mendenhall's father tried in 1983 to lease property for an adult bookstore.
Marion County Democratic chairman Ed Treacy says it appears Mendenhall was seeking revenge against DeLaney.
DeLaney is married to former state Democratic chairwoman Ann DeLaney. She says her husband hadn't met Mendenhall before and thought he wanted legal advice about buying land in the area.
