Wisconsin Man Sentenced to 30 Days for Assault at Rosemount Bar

A Wisconsin man is now serving 30 days in the Dakota County Jail for an unprovoked attack at a Rosemount bar in June of 2011.

Robert Jonathan Klein, a 30-year-old Marengo man, was arrested on June 11, 2011 after a Rosemount officer on patrol saw a pickup truck speeding from a bar parking lot. The truck did not slow for crossing, and seemed to be swerving all over the road. The officer initiated a traffic stop and immediately noticed that the driver, Klein, was drunk.

As he was speaking with Klein, one of the bar employees approached and told the officer that Klein had "laid out a guy on the dance floor." The officer observed a cut and fresh blood on Klein's knuckles. 

A medical unit was already en route.

Police called to the scene went inside the bar and found the victim lying on the dance floor, with blood seeping out of his mouth. He seemed dazed, and had difficulty answering the officers' questions. Witnesses said that a white male, later identified as Klein, slugged him in the face, causing him to fall backwards, hard. The punch rendered the man unconscious and non-responsive for a full three minutes after the attack. 

All said the punch appeared unprovoked. No one had witnessed any communications between the two over the course of the night.

Klein initially denied the allegations, but eventually broke down in tears. He told police that he'd been convicted of assault in the past and had not hit anyone in 10 years. According to Klein, the incident began when he saw one of his friends "shoulder check" the victim, then chaos broke out. As he fled, someone got up "in his face," Klein said. He could not recall precisely what happened next, but he acknowledged pushing the person.

For his part, the victim said he was hanging out with friends and didn't have any conflict with anyone that night. He told police that he and his friends were dancing with some women when a group of men approached them. A man in a Led Zeppelin shirt punched him in the face. He had no recollection of what happened after that.

The victim suffered a concussion, with extensive bruising and abrasions in his mouth.

Klein was charged with third-degree assault, a felony, and two DWI charges. He pleaded guilty on November 2012. In exchange, one of the DWI charges was dismissed. 

On May 9, 2013, Judge Patrice Sutherland sentenced Klein to five years of probation, a $300 fine, 60 days of home monitoring, and 30 days of local confinement, with credit for four days already served. 

The judge stayed a presumptive sentence of 18 months of incarceration at the St. Cloud Prison. As a part of his probation, Klein is barred from contact with known gang members. He will also have to submit to anger management training, a victim impact panel, and he will be obliged to pay restitution to the victim. If he violates any of the terms of his probation, he could be ordered to serve the entire 18 month sentence.

His jail time was set to begin on Monday, July 1.

Klein has a history of violent behavior. In 2002, he was convicted of first-degree assault in Ramsey County.