Two men testified Friday that Paul Welle unexpectedly assaulted them without provocation in a similar way that Welle is accused of attacking Dale Anderson outside a Proctor bar in November, leading to the Duluth native's death.
Welle, 33, of St. Michael, Minn., is on trial in State District Court in Duluth on charges of second-degree murder and first-degree manslaughter.
David Latham of Princeton, Minn., a head cook in a bar and restaurant, testified that he was living with Welle and the defendant's mother in Columbia Heights, Minn., in 2002 when Welle asked him to change the oil in his car. Latham said he was on the phone with his girlfriend at the time Welle made the oil-changing request, and he told him he would do it later.
"The next thing I knew I got punched in the face,'' Latham testified. He sustained a broken eye socket, and Welle pleaded guilty to third-degree assault.
A Columbia Heights police officer testified Friday that Welle initially denied assaulting Latham and told the officer that Latham wasn't his roommate -- he was an uninvited guest. Welle then changed his story and admitted to the crime.
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Mark Hoffard of Coon Rapids, Minn., who works in the auto body business, testified that he and Welle worked as cooks in a Columbia Heights restaurant in 2001. Hoffard said Welle called him at work to tell him something about Hoffard's girlfriend flirting with another man or fooling around.
Hoffard testified that he didn't believe Welle and hung up on him. Welle called him back, and Hoffard called him a loser. He said that Welle was waiting for him in the parking lot when he got off work.
He said Welle punched him in the mouth, knocking a tooth through his lip, and he fell to the ground.
"It was the last thing I was expecting,'' Hoffard testified.
Welle was charged with fifth-degree assault and ultimately pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct.
The prosecution contends that Welle was offended when Anderson tried to help some young women that he thought were being bothered by the defendant at the Powerhouse Bar on Nov. 6. The two men went outside, and Welle told investigators that Anderson stepped on his foot and took two swings at him, hitting him. Jurors were shown photos taken shortly after the incident in which Welle's right foot is swollen and bruised.
Welle told investigators with the Proctor Police Department and the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension that he punched Anderson once in the face, and he didn't think he hit him very hard. He said he was acting in self-defense.
After being punched, Anderson, 60, fell on a concrete walk, striking the back of his head. He died of a brain hemorrhage. St. Louis County prosecutor Rebekka Stumme told jurors in her opening statement that Welle is a man who reacts violently and hurts people when people don't do what he wants or disrespect him.
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Defense attorney Richard Holmstrom pointed out to jurors in his questioning that the assaults of the two witnesses took place a decade or more ago. In his opening statement, Holmstrom told jurors that the prosecution would try to use those earlier crimes to "frame" his client.
The prosecution continues to present its case Monday before a 10-woman, four-man jury with Judge Mark Munger presiding.
Anderson was living in Blaine, Minn., when he died. The victim was born in Duluth, attended Duluth Central High School and served with the Army in Vietnam. He worked as a machinist with the Soo Line and the DM&IR Railway. He was a hospice volunteer in Minneapolis and was a member of the Patriot Guard of Minnesota, a motorcycle group that attends the funerals of military members killed in action and shields the mourning family from protesters.
