A 43-year-old man has been charged with beating another man who soon died after a fight in a Fridley home more than 10 months ago.
Man charged in Fridley beating that led to man's death nearly a year ago
The defendant showed up to a home uninvited and immediately clashed with his victim.
December 14, 2022 at 9:47PM
Brandon P. Watson, of Fridley, was charged Monday in Anoka County District Court with third-degree assault in connection with the death on Jan. 30 of Joseph D. Skogen, 45, of Coon Rapids.
Watson was jailed soon after the fight on suspicion of second-degree manslaughter, but he wasn't charged at the time and was released three days later. The County Attorney's Office did not immediately respond to inquiries Wednesday about how it settled on an assault charge.
Watson was charged by summons and is due in court on April 14. Court records do not list an attorney for Watson, and contact information for him was not immediately available.
According to the criminal complaint:
A sheriff's detective responding to a report of an assault arrived at the home in the 6500 block of NE. Pierce Street, where a woman said she was in her bedroom and heard loud banging coming from the stairwell.
She went downstairs and saw both men in the stairwell. Watson was at the bottom holding an unidentified object and a bloodied Skogen was sitting at the top with "visible injuries to his face and head area." He fell unconscious and died at the scene.
The woman said Skogen was a guest at her home, and Watson arrived uninvited and soon began fighting with Skogen. She said she "believed [Watson] must have used an object to cause Skogen's injuries."
The complaint did not explain why the men were arguing.
Watson could not be reached for comment.
The pilot was the only person inside the plane, and was not injured in the emergency landing, according to the State Patrol.
