The long awaited trial of three Cottonwood residents on felony assault charges concluded this week. One of the defendants is a 70-year-old woman who was named the community’s “citizen of the year” in 2016. The Carroll family, Vanessa and Michael and their son Anthony, were delivering the Record Searchlight in the early morning hours. For several weeks they were accused of stealing mail by people identifying themselves as members of a “Cottonwood Community Watch”, including Jason Wicks and his son Jeffery. The Carrolls explained that their job delivering newspapers was why they were frequently around mailboxes in the wee hours. Early one morning, the Carrolls were in front of a Main Street gas station sorting their papers before delivery, and the Wicks were parked nearby along with Carrolyn Barlow. The fight apparently started when Anthony Carroll made a hand gesture in their direction. Jason Wicks reportedly hit Michael Carroll in the head a few times with a metal flashlight, knocking him out. Anthony Carroll had a bleeding injury to his temple and Vanessa Carroll suffered a hand injury while trying to break up the fight. Barlow remained in the car and did not participate in the fight, but she was convicted of misdemeanor assault. Jason Wicks was found guilty on two counts of assault with a deadly weapon and one count of assault likely to cause injury. Jeffrey was acquitted on all but one charge, on which the jury could not agree and the judge dismissed. Sentencing for Jason Wicks and Carrolyn Barlow is set for October 21st.