Elderly yard sale shopper batters another with cornbread pan

Yard sale etiquette apparently went out the window on Friday in Sonora after a 70-year-old man hit another man over the head with a cornbread pan while the two were trying to get access to the sale items. Jon Joslin, 70, was arrested and charged with assault with a deadly weapon. The victim, Joseph Brown, 64, suffered a head laceration but refused medical treatment at the scene, according to Sgt. Jeff Wilson, spokesman for the Tuolumne County Sheriff’s Department.

According to Wilson, Joslin arrived early at the yard sale and was told he would not be allowed to buy anything until 8 a.m. because that was the advertised start time. Brown arrived a little later, at 7:45 a.m., and apparently the two talked about how other yard sales operated differently.



At about 8 a.m., the two walked up a long driveway to the sale, with Brown walking ahead of Joslin. Wilson said Joslin didn’t like this, and tried tripping Brown. Not knowing what was going on, Brown continued, and Joslin tried tripping Brown again.

Now aware of what was happening, Brown told Joslin to stop and an argument ensued. Brown pushed Joslin, and Joslin — who had the five-pound, cast-iron pan in his hand — hit Brown over the head with it, Wilson said. Deputies arrived, and took Joslin into custody.