Charges filed in stabbing, fight at Sawmill Saloon
Surveillance video helped investigators piece together how two people ended up with stab wounds while at a northern Minnesota bar earlier this week.
Aiden J. Deegan was charged in St. Louis County Thursday with second-degree assault and second-degree riot with a dangerous weapon in connection with the dust-up at Virginia's Sawmill Saloon early Wednesday. The 18-year-old was arrested at his apartment in the Iron Range city around 9:30 a.m. that same day, about nine hours after the incident.
The encounter left two people with stab wounds — one in the lower back, the other in the thigh — both of which were caused by Deegan, the charges state. They were taken to Virginia Regional Medical Center with the non life-threatening wounds.
When authorities arrived at the bar following a 911 call, they found "many drops and pools of blood in and around the bar area," according to the charges. They initially had a hard time piecing together what happened, however, because witnesses kept providing conflicting stories.
So authorities went to surveillance footage, which captured the lead-up to the incident from multiple angles.
According to the criminal complaint:
The videos show Deegan was with two acquaintances at the Sawmill Saloon, sitting at the bar around 12:30 a.m. Wednesday. Nearby, one victim sat with a friend.
At one point, that first victim appeared to become "angry" and "pushed his way" toward Deegan's group. The victim and Deegan began fighting, but then victim one backed off — picking up a barstool but ultimately setting it down before retreating to the other end of the bar.
Deegan and one of his friends continued to go after the victim however, with the parties throwing punches. During the fight, Deegan took out a knife and stabbed the first victim in the back. He then pocketed the weapon and returned to the opposite end of the bar.
The second stabbing victim was actually Deegan's acquaintance. Security footage from another angle showed Deegan had his knife out, and accidentally stabbed the man in the thigh with it. That friend had a gun in his waistband, which he took out and gave to the other friend that helped Deegan fight the first victim. They put the gun in a backpack and then all three left.
The charges say Deegan and his two acquaintances all took part in the fight.
Later that morning, officers went to Deegan's apartment and arrested him. They found shoes stained with what appeared to be dried blood, and after obtaining a search warrant recovered bloody clothing that matched what was seen on Deegan in the security camera footage, according to the criminal charges. They also found a folding knife in one of the bedrooms.
Deegan made his first court appearance Thursday. His next is set for April 18, according to court records.
