Guilty plea entered in Kettle River assault case

A Wisconsin man accused of attacking two men with his fists and a roofing jack pleaded guilty last month and was sentenced Friday, Nov. 13.

Jeffrey Allen Louks, 35, of Washburn, Wisconsin was originally charged with first-degree assault, great bodily harm, as well as second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon. Under the terms of a plea agreement, he pleaded guilty to two counts of felony third-degree assault.

According to the criminal complaint:

On July 25, Carlton County deputies received a phone call regarding an alleged assault that took place at a home on Minkkinen Road in Kettle River in the early morning hours.

The victim’s wife called from a medical facility and stated that her husband and another victim had been assaulted by Louks.

Both men had been drinking with Louks at the Tower Tap Bar in Kettle River, then went to someone’s house and were drinking by a fire outside. The first victim stated that he couldn’t remember the details very well, but that Louks assaulted him and he remembered regaining consciousness and seeing the second victim on the ground begging Louks to stop, telling him “I think my brain is hemorrhaging.” The first victim said Louks used his fists and a roofing jack to hit them. Both victims are from Two Harbors.

The second victim was admitted to intensive care at a Duluth hospital with a subdural bleed in his brain. When he was interviewed by Carlton County deputy chief Brian Bellich, the second victim also identified Louks as the person who assaulted him and said he beat him in the back of the head with a roof jack. The two men had worked together for less than two weeks.

Louks’ sentence of 18 months in prison was stayed for five years. Instead he was placed on supervised probation for five years. Louks was given credit for 112 days already served in the Carlton County Jail.