Obtaining information on three cases involving the assault of a former Blue Earth Area football player hasn’t been easy.
E-mails to Faribault County Attorney Kathryn Karjala-Curtis from Tripleanews.com regarding the status of two juvenile cases have gone unanswered.
During a public meeting held last Thursday in Winnebago, Karjala-Curtis was asked how far along the juvenile cases were in the court system and why a sentencing hearing in another case was postponed.
Karjala-Curtis responded by saying she didn’t know because another attorney in her office was handling it.
Dalton Lee Nagel was scheduled to be sentenced on July 9, however, that has been rescheduled to Aug. 20.
Early last month, the 18-year-old Nagel pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting third-degree assault and a new charge of fifth-degree criminal sexual misconduct.
Tripleanews.com has learned that Nagel’s sentencing has been delayed because a pre-sentence investigation has not been completed.
One of the juveniles, 17-year-old Blake Joseph Barnett, has a pre-trial hearing coming up on July 23, after having four other pre-trial hearings that have had to be rescheduled.
Barnett is facing felony charges of third-degree assault and aiding and abetting third-degree assault.
Court records show that Barnett has moved with his family to Des Moines and played on a high school varsity basketball team last year.
A person familiar with Barnett’s case tells Tripleanews.com that he may be facing more charges.
Officials at the court administrator’s office say information regarding the other juvenile is no longer available to the public.
A court official says the juvenile was 15 years old at the time when he also was charged with third-degree assault and aiding and abetting third-degree assault. She says a court file should not have been made for public access.
“Mistakes are made. They thought he was 16,” says the court official.
Wyatt Tungland, 18, will appear in court on July 27 for a contested omnibus hearing on charges of third-degree assault and aiding and abetting third-degree assault.
The four players beat their 16-year-old teammate – a sophomore lineman – unconscious, says a criminal complaint, and took a cell phone video of the attack.
The alleged attack took place at a party held at a teammate’s home last October in Winnebago.