A Brooklyn Park man has been sentenced on two gross misdemeanor charges after pleading guilty under a plea agreement. The man was originally charged with an additional felony-level count of third-degree assault, which was dismissed under the plea deal.
Anoka County authorities charged the man with felony assault, gross misdemeanor domestic assault and gross misdemeanor drunk driving. The allegations arose after deputies were called to a bar in Ham Lake on a report of a fight. The deputies arrived in the area and saw a car drive away from the bar and restaurant, so officials say the deputies pulled the car over.
Law enforcement had claimed that a woman was sitting in the passenger seat and showed signs of physical injury, including a cut on her face and a swollen left eye. The woman reportedly told the deputies that the Brooklyn Park man had punched her during an argument between the two while they sat in the car.
Deputies say that the man appeared to be under the influence during the traffic stop. He was arrested on suspicion of assault charges and driving while impaired. Authorities claim that he tested 0.21 percent blood alcohol concentration on the night of the arrest.
The man was charged with felony assault on allegations that he had injured the woman in the car. He was also charged with domestic violence, which was enhanced to a gross misdemeanor offense based upon a prior domestic assault conviction in Hennepin County in 2003. The third count alleged a gross misdemeanor DWI charge.
The man entered a plea agreement, where the felony assault count was dismissed in exchange for the guilty pleas to the two gross misdemeanor charges. The man was sentenced to a year in jail with 335 days suspended. He was ordered to serve 30 days in jail with credit for four days. His sentence also includes fines and fees, and other conditions. He will serve four years on probation.
Source: Coon Rapids Herald, “Man sentenced for assault, DWI,” Eric Hagen, Nov. 15, 2012
