TWO HARBORS -- Philip Hoberg overcame some juvenile delinquency problems to go on to graduate with honors from the University of Michigan. He currently runs two businesses in Superior.
Minneapolis defense attorney Peter Wold suggested to jurors Tuesday that Hoberg is clever and devious enough to try to frame Superior police Officer Ross Magnuson.
Hoberg, 27, took the stand Tuesday in Lake County District Court, testifying that Magnuson, while off-duty, pulled a gun at him in the parking lot of a Two Harbors convenience store in August.
"At first the gun was directly pointed at my face,'' Hoberg said of the incident he contends began when Magnuson made an obscene gesture as Hoberg passed him in his 2002 black BMW 745 on Highway 61.
"This incident happened so fast ... The best I can say is I had one hand on his chest, one hand on his shoulder and I'm not clear about what point he lowered his weapon or holstered his weapon.''
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Magnuson, 46, of Knife River, a 12-year Superior police officer, is charged with second-degree assault and making terroristic threats -- both felonies -- as well as recklessly handling a dangerous weapon and disorderly conduct.
The incident is not the first time the two have come in contact with each other in a law enforcement setting. In an amazing coincidence, Magnuson arrested Hoberg as a juvenile in Superior about 10 years ago. Yet neither man recognized the other during the Two Harbors' incident.
Wold invoked that previous encounter in his attempt to destroy Hoberg's credibility, calling him a "punk from the past,'' that Magnuson and other Superior police officers had to deal with years ago. He called Hoberg a "manipulating, calculating and a predatory liar'' and his version of events "pure fiction.''
The defense attorney said Hoberg saw Magnuson make note of his license plate in the Holiday Store West parking lot and feared the officer could cause him trouble because of his reckless driving behavior that day. So Hoberg called 911 with his own story, Wold suggested.
Lake County Attorney Russ Conrow told jurors in Judge Kenneth Sandvik's courtroom that the incident transpired in about three minutes. He said the version of events presented by Holberg and his girlfriend, who was a passenger in the BMW, along with her 4-year-old son, warranted Magnuson being convicted of the crimes he is charged with.
Hoberg said he called 911 because he feared Magnuson would trump up something against him. Hoberg had a difficult time relating a consistent version of what transpired when he said Magnuson drew a gun. Wold also pointed out to jurors inconsistencies in statements the alleged victim gave to Two Harbors police.
Hoberg testified that when the case received media attention, he became worried about his standing in the community. The attention also affected his willingness to talk about it, he said. He was scared, he said, and tried "the best I could to be as honest as I could'' in his statements to police.
Testimony continues today.
