Two of the young adults involved in a May 26 melee at a Kelsey Township gravel pit have entered guilty pleas.
Kelly Joy Johnson, 21, of Saginaw and Chase Louis Collelo, 18, of Duluth both pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct, Assistant St. Louis County Attorney Nathaniel Stumme said. Johnson was fined $50, and Collelo was sentenced to 30 days in the St. Louis County Jail. His sentence was stayed for one year of probation. Both came as a result of settlement offers, Stumme said.
Collelo originally had been charged with misdemeanor assault as well as disorderly conduct.
Johnson and Collelo were among seven people charged in the aftermath of the incident, which prompted a Memorial Day march and a July 7 rally on the St. Louis Courthouse steps on behalf of Max Pelofske, 21, of Duluth.
Pelofske claimed that he was beaten in the gravel pit because he is gay, and that he was the victim of a hate crime.
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However, the St. Louis County Attorney's Office found no basis for hate-crime charges. Instead, Pelofske was among those charged with misdemeanor assault and disorderly conduct. Johnson had accompanied him to the event, which was an unofficial Proctor High School graduation party, and supported his account of what happened.
The charges against Pelofske have not yet been resolved, Stumme said.
One other person involved in the fracas previously pleaded guilty. Wesley Richard Alberg, 18, of Duluth pleaded guilty on Aug. 9 to disorderly conduct and was fined $400, according to court records. A misdemeanor assault charge against him was dropped.
