A Cloquet man is facing felony charges of assault in two separate cases on the same day, one involving a stolen front-end loader and a large amount of snow.
In the first case, Jay Jordan Houle, 20, is charged with aggravated robbery in the first degree, assault in the second degree and assault in the third degree, all felonies.
Fond du Lac police officers responded to a report of an assault and robbery that occurred at Houle's residence at 3201 Maple Drive on Friday.
The victim and his girlfriend went to Houle's home to collect a debt, according to court documents. While they were in the driveway, Houle and another man drove in and Houle entered the victim's car.
According to the criminal complaint, Houle showed a knife to the victim and told him to give him money. When the victim refused, Houle pulled the victim out of the car and hit him over the head with a broken shovel handle. During the altercation, the victim was able to hand his girlfriend his money and Houle's knife. Houle then pulled the victim's girlfriend out of the car and took about $800 from her. Houle left the residence with the man with whom he had arrived.
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The victim received four stitches and eight staples in his head due to the assault, documents said.
Later that day, authorities say, Houle was involved in another assault when he went with his father, Brian Abramowski, 59, to visit a woman with whom he'd had a long-term relationship.
According to court documents, Abramowski stole a front-end loader used in construction to drive to the woman's home on the 1700 block of Wolf Ridge Drive. After he entered the house, Abramowski started yelling at the woman. When a man in the basement came upstairs, Abramowski and Houle began assaulting the man. The man was reportedly punched, pushed down and kicked in the head, face and torso by the two men.
Court documents said he was brutally beaten and suffered a large gash above one eye and bruising, and one eye was swollen shut. When they left the house, they allegedly used the front-end loader to create a 7- or 8-foot snow barrier to block the woman's driveway.
In that incident Houle is charged with third-degree felony assault and felony terroristic threats. Abramowski is also charged with third-degree assault, terroristic threats and felony theft of a motor vehicle.
In court, Houle's bond was set at $50,000 for each case for a total of $100,000, while Abramowski's bond was set at $50,000.
