Man beats grandfather with golf club, sprays wasp spray on wounds, Iowa cops say

A man accused of severely beating his 71-year-old grandfather told him he planned to electrocute and kill him, Iowa authorities say.

Officers in Davenport found the victim seriously injured when they arrived at a home July 28, according to an affidavit.

The victim told authorities that his grandson, 38-year-old Joshua Ragan, began punching and pushing him for undisclosed reasons, causing him to fall, Davenport police said.

With his grandfather on the ground, Ragan began to strike him “in the head and body with golf clubs,” investigators said.

“The defendant then sprayed wasp spray into the victim’s wounds while he was injured on the floor of the basement, telling the victim he was going to kill him and threatening to electrocute him,” according to the court documents.

Police said the 71-year-old told investigators he was unable to call 911 for three hours because Ragan had intentionally disabled his phone. The grandfather was held against his will in the basement before officers arrived, the affidavit says.

The grandfather suffered “facial injuries, (a) probable broken wrist and rib injuries,” according to the court documents, which also state he needed stitches to his head.

Ragan was arrested at the scene and admitted to assaulting his grandfather, police said.

He was charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm, willful injury causing serious injury, false imprisonment and multiple assault-related counts, according to the affidavit.

Davenport is about an 85-mile drive southeast from Cedar Rapids.

This story was originally published July 31, 2025 at 3:25 PM with the headline "Man beats grandfather with golf club, sprays wasp spray on wounds, Iowa cops say."