Concertgoer arrested on assault charges

By Linda Cook | Monday, March 12, 2007

A Blue Grass, Iowa, man faces a charge of assault with injury after allegedly striking a woman during the John Prine concert at the Adler Theatre on Saturday night.

John Dennis Murphy, 56, was taken to Scott County Jail about 10:45 p.m. Saturday after a concertgoer allegedly was struck.

Murphy, who was upset with a victim for singing along, police said, allegedly turned around during the concert and told another member of the audience to “shut the (expletive deleted) up.”

According to police, when that person tried to reason with Murphy, he allegedly struck her with a closed fist to the right side of her face, causing redness and swelling to her right eye.

Murphy left Scott County Jail on pre-trial release, according to the Scott County Sheriff’s Department.

Prine is a folk/country singer-songwriter, whose best-known songs are “Sam Stone,” about a trouble Vietnam War veteran, and “Illegal Smile.”