Charges: Duluth firefighter attacked 65-year-old woman on hiking trail

Warning: This story contains some adult language. 

A Duluth firefighter has officially been charged in an attack that took place on a local hiking trail earlier this year.

According to prosecutors, Conrad John Sunde, 49, assaulted a 65-year-old woman on the morning of July 10, after she confronted him about his three off-leash dogs. The encounter left her with "actively bleeding" abrasions over her left eye as well as cuts and scrapes all over her body.

The victim, who called the police after getting back to her home, told officers that one of the dogs had "startled her," leading her to tell Sunde — who was on a bicycle at the time — that they "needed to be on a leash," according to the charges.

The suspect then "called her a bitch and used other foul language," while the victim tried to get out her cellphone to record the encounter.

At that point, the charges say, Sunde "lifted up his bicycle and charged" the woman, hitting her in the chest with the front tire. She fell to the ground, where the defendant "got on top of her and forcefully pushed her head and face into the gravel," causing an injury that was later diagnosed as a nasal fracture.

There was a struggle for the woman's phone, which Sunde eventually wrested away from her, prosecutors say. Officers later found the phone 100 to 150 feet down an embankment.

That same day, Sunde showed up at the West Duluth Police to admit his involvement in the incident, confessing to knocking the victim down with his bicycle and throwing her phone into the woods, according to the charges.

He's now charged with third-degree assault and first-degree aggravated robbery, which carry penalties of five and 20 years, respectively.

As the Duluth News Tribune reports, Sunde was given a 30-day unpaid suspension from the fire department, but "remains actively employed by the city."

The altercation happened on the Duluth Traverse trail system, the paper notes.

Sunde was awarded "Firefighter of the Year" in 2012 by the local Kiwanis Club.