Man guilty of assault

Jury

deliberates

2 1/2 hours

By FRITZ BUSCH

Journal Staff Writer

NEW ULM -- After two and one-half hours of deliberation, a 12-member jury found a 26-year-old Olivia man guilty of Felony Second Degree Assault in Brown County District Court Friday.

The jury of nine women and three men decided that Chuck L. Baumgartner was guilty of assault with a dangerous weapon, causing fear of immediate bodily harm or death to Alisa A. Ahl, 25 of Sacred Heart on Feb. 12, 2004 in the parking lot of Linderhof Apartments in New Ulm.

Baumgartner will be held in the Brown County Jail until his sentencing which was scheduled for 8:45 a.m., Monday, April 26. Maximum sentence for the offense is seven years in prison and/or a $14,000 fine.

New Ulm attorney Robert A. Docherty, Baumgartner's public defender, was disappointed in the verdict.

"I thought there were enough contradictions in the State's case itself to create a reasonable doubt," Docherty said. "The jury thought differently. I guess I'll have to live with that."

Olson was not available for comment after the verdict was read.

In his final argument, prosecuting attorney James B. Olson of New Ulm told the jury to "use their life experiences" to determine if Baumgartner was guilty.

He noted the "inconsistent" testimony of Baumgartner's friends relative to his parking lot encounter with Ahl in which she said he grabbed her by her hair and held a knife to her throat in front of their children who were nearby in her car.

Last month, Baumgartner was convicted of Second Degree Burglary and theft of a firearm in Renville County.

Ahl was convicted of check forgery six years ago.

Olson suggested the couple had a love-hate relationship.

Ahl was choked with emotion and cried at times when talking about how he became angry with her during their visit in New Ulm last month. She said he called her derogatory names before calling another girlfriend to pick him up at the New Ulm Microtel the morning after the visit began.

"It was hard for her to testify against him," Olson said. "But she did it."

Public defender attorney Robert A. Docherty of New Ulm, told the jury they had to decide if they believed Ahl in the first place

"She made up a story to get out of a jam, saying it was all Chuck's fault," Docherty said, referring to her bringing up the alleged incident with Baumgartner and a knife while on the stand in a court case in Renville County.

"She didn't expect the story to go to far, when she testified in Renville County," Docherty said. "She contradicted herself. It's the details that are telling. She said she didn't study the story. Look at the all the facts. Probably isn't anywhere near guilty. What began as a story to get her out of trouble has become a story to get Mr. Baumgartner in trouble."

According to the complaint, New Ulm Police were called by a Renville County investigator on Feb. 13, 2004 regarding the couple's encounter the night before in New Ulm.

The investigator said he was in court on Feb. 13 with Ahl when she relayed information to the Court about the details of the alleged assault in the parking lot of the Linderhoff Apartments in New Ulm.

Ahl said she came to New Ulm on Feb. 11, 2004 and rented a room with Baumgartner at the Microtel Motel in New Ulm for the night so he could see his children.

The next morning, the couple had an argument and Baumgartner left the hotel and returned to the Linderhof apartment he shared with Sheila Pavelka. Ahl agreed to stop by the apartment and drop off his Baumgardt's clothes that he left at the motel the night before.

As she was placing the items in his car, she said she was approached from behind by Baumgartner who allegedly held a knife against her throat and said he was going to kill her, the complaint said. Baumgartner released Ahl who said she feared for her life and that Baumgartner's actions where in front of her children.

The knife was described as 4 to 5 inches long and shaped like sword with a black handle.

Ahl said on the witness stand that Baumgartner tossed a lighted cigarette into the rear seat of her car while her children were sitting in the car during their encounter. She retrieved the cigarette and threw it outside the car. She added that he threw a piece of pizza at her vehicle after the cigarette.

New Ulm Police obtained a search warrant for the knife and found it in a speaker in the apartment where Baumgardt and Pavelka were living. He was arrested without incident in the Linderhoff parking lot the next morning.

Baumgartner appeared in Brown County District Court on Feb. 17, 2004. Unconditional bail was set at $30,000 and conditional bail was set at $4,000. He remains in custody in the Brown County Jail.

The two-day jury trial was to begin Thursday but an emergency medical situation involving the child of the alleged victim in the case delayed the start of the trial.

Judge John R. Rodenberg excused the jury late Thursday morning after it was learned that Ahl was tending to a medical situation involving her small child. The jury was not sequestered, but was told to ignore news reports and not discuss the case with family or friends.