A Duluth man convicted of killing another man in an alcohol-fueled fight in Duluth about 13 years ago was sentenced this afternoon to five years in prison for critically injuring another man in a March fight.
David Dean Johnson, 37, pleaded guilty in November to first-degree assault and obstructing the legal process in connection with the March 29 incident in which he assaulted Dwayne Medina-Graciano.
According to a victim impact statement read to the court by St. Louis County prosecutor Mark Rubin, Medina-Graciano suffered a fractured skull, permanent hearing loss, loss of balance and loss of memory. Nonetheless, the victim said he forgave his attacker.
"In the Christian way and in the Anishinabe way, we are taught not to hold grudges and ill will, and [not to] wish for vengeance. And I don't. I pray you find your way this time around,'' Medina-Graciano wrote in his victim impact statement.
Judge Gerald Martin accepted the terms of a plea agreement worked out between Rubin and public defender Steven Coz in handing down the sentence. The defendant was sentenced to 60 months in prison for the first-degree assault conviction and one year for obstructing legal process. In a separate case, he received a 15-month sentence for a theft conviction. All three sentences will be served at the same time. He received credit for the 287 days he has spent in jail since being arrested.
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Johnson said he had no comment when asked by Martin if he wanted to address the court. According to a report by an Arrowhead Regional Corrections probation officer, Johnson had no remorse for his actions.
Duluth police found Medina-Graciano - the father of three children ages 9, 10 and 11, lying on the sidewalk near a snow-bank at Lake Avenue and Fifth Street at 10:01 p.m. on March 29. He had several injuries to his head and appeared to have some teeth broken during an assault. Surgery was performed to relieve pressure on his brain and doctors located two spots on the brain that were bleeding.
A St. Louis County jury convicted Johnson in 1996 of first-degree manslaughter in the death of 32-year-old Jerome Buckanaga of Duluth. The victim died of head injuries after being assaulted by Johnson.
Johnson was sentenced on July 2, 1996, to nearly 10 years in prison, about two years longer than the guideline sentence at that time for manslaughter because the judge found that he treated Buckanaga with "cruelty' and "utter callousness.' The victim was disabled and used a cane.
