Former Gophers QB Phillip Nelson arrested in his hometown of Mankato for assault

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stcgopher said:
PN will not get much jail time, if any, nor should he.
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You want folks to take you seriously then you say something stupid like this. Some may find your ignorance refreshing, but I'm done wasting time on you.
 

Dean S said:
Nj.com has a chain of events story. They have been on top of the story in putting details together. Their reporter has made several phone interviews.
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http://www.nj.com/rutgersfootball/i...ls_details_of_altercation.html#incart_m-rpt-1

Nelson was upset because a bouncer at a bar in downtown Mankato flirted with his girlfriend, who told police Nelson is very protective of her.

Nelson's girlfriend said they left the bar and encountered Kolstad outside around 2 a.m. on Sunday morning. The bouncer and Kolstad are different people.
Nelson and Kolstad, a former Minnesota State-Mankato football player, had a "heated" verbal exchange and were separated, according to witnesses. A police officer that viewed surveillance footage reported that Kolstad threw a punch that hit Nelson in the back, which forced Nelson to fall to the ground.

Kolstad began to move away and an unknown male ran after him. The unknown male delivered a punch to Kolstad's head/face. Kolstad immediately went limp and collapsed to the pavement. Witnesses told the Minneapolis Star-Tribune that Kolstad was out on his feet after the first punch, then fell back and smacked his head on the pavement before Nelson allegedly kicked him.

Nelson's girlfriend was observed trying to hold him back, but he pushed past and approached Kolstad. Nelson then delivered at least one kick to the left side of Kolstad's head. The police officer said the video clearly shows that Kolstad was defenseless as Nelson delivered the kick(s).


The unknown assailant fled the scene and authorities continue to search for him. Police described him as a white male in his early 20s, wearing jeans and a red T-shirt. Police believe the shirt was torn during the attack. Nelson remained in the area and was identified by several witnesses as the person who kicked Kolstad in the head.


Nelson, 20, was observed by a police officer on the scene as having bloodshot eyes and an odor of alcohol coming from him, the complaint said.
At the Blue Earth County Jail, Nelson was interviewed by a police officer about the incident. Nelson told police that he thought he had been punched by the bouncer who had hit on his girlfriend earlier in the night.


Nelson said he saw the unknown suspect punch Kolstad. Nelson said he didn't know the other suspect. Nelson said he walked away after that. The police officer asked Nelson if he remembered kicking Kolstad in the head, and Nelson replied that he did not, police said.


According to the complaint, Kolstad suffered severe injuries consisting of bleeding of the brain, skull fracture, brain swelling, brain shifting, and deterioration of lungs from lack of oxygen. Kolstad's skull fracture was on the left side of his head, which is the same area Nelson kicked him, police said.


The next day, police spoke to Dr. Dominic Cannella, a neurosurgeon at the Mayo Clinic and asked what could have caused the injury. Police said Cannella said a combination of being struck and kicked in the head. The doctor said Kolstad has a severe head injury and a severe pulmonary injury. The doctor isn't sure if Kolstad will survive and isn't optimistic he'll have a good recovery if he does survive. The doctor said they are taking the situation hour-by-hour.


Nelson has been charged with one count of first-degree assault and one count of third-degree assault, both felonies in Minnesota. First degree assault indicates the perpetrator inflicted "great bodily harm" and carries a maximum prison sentence of 20 years.


Nelson, handcuffed and in an orange jailhouse jumpsuit, appeared in court on Monday afternoon. Bail was set at $20,000 by Blue Earth County District Judge Bradley Walker. Nelson's lawyer, James Fleming, told NJ.com that he expects Nelson to make bail Monday evening.
Fleming said that Nelson “was not the aggressor," according to the Star-Tribune. Fleming reportedly will conduct his own investigation to determine who’s blow caused the injuries to Kolstad.


Nelson remains on the Rutgers roster.


"We are in the process of gathering information on the situation and reserve comment until the legal process is complete," Rutgers athletic department spokesman Jason Baum said in a statement.






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stcgopher said:
Read the statements released by the police. IK punch PN hard enough to drop the very large man to the ground. PN will not get much jail time, if any, nor should he.
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Your posts on this topic continue to baffle me.
 


jaymil said:
He's probably referring to these two videos the police have posted. You can't really tell if the other two people are Phil and his gf though.
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They were identified as PN and his gf by the cop at the arraignment.
 

Spoofin said:
You want folks to take you seriously then you say something stupid like this. Some may find your ignorance refreshing, but I'm done wasting time on you.
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:confused: I beg you, please waste more time on me!
 





stcgopher said:
Read the statements released by the police. IK punch PN hard enough to drop the very large man to the ground. PN will not get much jail time, if any, nor should he.
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He very well might, and if he did what was alleged he very well should and will. You are either ignorant of the law or a knuckle-dragger. I suppose the two aren't mutually exclusive.
 

Minnesota Law is quite clear.

Subd. 10.Assault. "Assault" is:
(1) an act done with intent to cause fear in another of immediate bodily harm or death; or
(2) the intentional infliction of or attempt to inflict bodily harm upon another.

609.221 ASSAULT IN THE FIRST DEGREE.
Subdivision 1.Great bodily harm. Whoever assaults another and inflicts great bodily harm may be sentenced to imprisonment for not more than 20 years or to payment of a fine of not more than $30,000, or both.

Nelson was no longer under threat when he retaliated against Kolstad. It will not matter who started the incident.
 

I understand where some people are coming from in their defense of the situation. Except stc, you need to reexamine your thought process that you outline previously.

With the information that has been released, I can understand why PN was upset. And while I disagree with a physical response, I could see how in the moment that could happen. In the end, three wrongs don't make a right. IK shouldn't have punched PN (whether or not is a non-fighting blow is inconsequential). Red shirt cold-cocked IK, knocking him out, and subsequently falling and hitting his head on the pavement, likely causing some of the traumatic brain injury. He deserves a felony conviction. PN kicked someone who was defenseless and motionless, causing bodily injury. A misdemeanor/gross misdemeanor would seem fair, but he kicked him in the head. I can't get around that. He likely further contributed to brain injury, and potentially cracked IK's skull (this could have happened during the fall). The location of the kick, to me, justifies a felony for PN.

An unfortunate series of events, but the result and causes are inescapable. It's sad that potentially one punch, and (maybe) one kick directly ruined three people's lives. Stc, this is why your position is indefensible. End result: the true victim is Kolstad - my thoughts are with him and his family. Here's hoping the doctors are wrong and he makes a full recovery.
 

CoMn said:
Indi the reason most people don't get into a position to be suckered punched is they don't go places where bad folks hang out, don't drink to excess, don't feel a need to "get respect" from strangers, aren't obsessively possessive of their girlfriends…they walked away before it even began by not even being there. The bad choice was not dealing with the dysfunction in one's life in the first place…
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The vast majority of people who go out to bars don't end up getting in fights or getting jailed for assault. I'm tired of hearing people say that "well, they shouldn't have been there," or "nothing good happens late at night." As if going out to the bars automatically makes someone a bad person.
 



Gopherguy0723 said:
He very well might, and if he did what was alleged he very well should and will. You are either ignorant of the law or a knuckle-dragger. I suppose the two aren't mutually exclusive.
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Damn you work hard at pumping yourself up on a message board; would love to compare bank accounts with, you'd be so pissed that a knuckle dragger could make you feel so inadequate.
 

Id bet that his parents will get him a decent lawyer, who will work out some deal with the prosecutor to give Nelson a slap on the wrist probation deal. Due to him having no priors and being attacked first its possible. I hope he gets some prison time but our justice system is crazy.
 

Indi1006 said:
So Nelson was actually suckered from behind and then retaliated in anger in an unfortunate manner. It matters that the other kid started the physical altercation; if not legally then over time in the court of public opinion.
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Just an excuse. Did he do it is all that matters when it comes to kicking an unconscious person in the head.
 

Nelson just joined Amy Senser in the Minnesota despicable chicken$hit hall of fame.
 

Just curious: will there eventually be a formal trial, due process of the law, the introduction of expert testimony, a judge, a jury and all that jazz? Why the hell are so many of you people passing yourselves off as "experts" on both sides of this issue? And that, exactly is what is happening here. You people need to have some patience, let the police do their work, the prosecutors will prosecute...not you biased people here on GOPHERHOLE. The defenders will build their defenses. Not you biased people offering your spin on things.

Eventually blind justice will render a verdict.

In the meanwhile, just hope for the very best for the gravely injured young man.

You people are letting your egos get WAY out of hand here. You are calling each other names. Some of you are attempting to intimidate people you don't agree with. Talk about a bunch of kangaroo court people! And the other side is no better. You people should all be ashamed of yourselves. In the end, the truth will be brought forth. The legal system MUST be allowed to go to work.

What we have here is a tragic, tragic situation. The hatred I see coming from you people is pretty damn discouraging and totally disrespects the sadness, hurt, and loss connected with this entire situation. I would imagine that should this thing go to a jury trial, based upon what I am seeing here on GOPHERHOLE, finding unbiased jurors just may be a rather difficult and time consuming procedure.
 

Garden variety bar fight with chance outcome. Kolstad should be the one charged with assault. If you don't want to get kicked in the head while you're down, don't start fights, especially not with cheap shots against football players. PN was perfectly in the right to retaliate. Any man with a functioning ball sack would have responded the same way.

Then again, I think duels should be legal.
 

SickAndTiredOfLosingToWI said:
Garden variety bar fight with chance outcome. Kolstad should be the one charged with assault. If you don't want to get kicked in the head while you're down, don't start fights, especially not with cheap shots against football players. PN was perfectly in the right to retaliate. Any man with a functioning ball sack would have responded the same way.

Then again, I think duels should be legal.
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Idiotic post full of machismo and not grounded in any kind of reality.

But you got the reaction you were going for so kudos I guess.
 

stcgopher said:
Damn you work hard at pumping yourself up on a message board; would love to compare bank accounts with, you'd be so pissed that a knuckle dragger could make you feel so inadequate.
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Are you $hitting me with this? The rest of the forum has pretty much spoken, you have an awful, horrible, indefensible opinion on this topic. Who gives a rip what your bank account looks like, it doesn't make your position here any less ridiculous
 

Look, I get this is a sad situation all around (not trying to downplay the seriousness of it either) and that Nelson's former time at Minnesota draws some additional interest, but wow some of you losers really need to get a life. By the looks of it, some of the "usual suspects" have been in this thread and replying to it practically all day yesterday and today. Seriously?!

My God, get a life and go do something productive. Get some exercise. Something! Just get off your damn computer or smartphone for a couple hours! No one needs you to play judge, jury, executioner, lawyer or a self-perceived subject matter expert. There are REAL people whose job that is who will be doing that in due time in accordance with the law.

Honestly. smh. :rolleyes:
 

The details are starting to come out & that's a good thing. Instead of PN & his buddy attacking some innocent slob & then kicking his head in after he was obviously unconscious, it turns out a 280lb former college linebacker, sucker punched PN from behind so hard he floored him. Nelson obviously shouldn't have kicked the guy in the head, but it seems reasonable that he didn't observe IK & evaluate his condition before kicking him, but rather got himself up off the ground after getting blindsided & in a instinctual rage kicked the guy in retaliation. Again, I'm not saying kicking the guy in the head was ok. I am saying IK was a punk though. 280lb former college linebackers shouldn't be sucker punching people from behind outside of bars at 2am. Especially when they have a wife & baby at home, with another one due in a couple weeks. Sad story, lot's of stupid decisions made by all parties. I think PN's attorney will make a compelling case, backed by witnesses & video, that IK suffered the serious brain injury when he cracked his head on the concrete, not from PN's shoe & that had PN understood how badly he was hurt he wouldn't have kicked him.
 

Should be interesting to see how Blue Earth County handles this case after their last high profile case involving MSU - Mankato and athletics went.
 

imthewalrus said:
Just curious: will there eventually be a formal trial, due process of the law, the introduction of expert testimony, a judge, a jury and all that jazz? Why the hell are so many of you people passing yourselves off as "experts" on both sides of this issue? And that, exactly is what is happening here. You people need to have some patience, let the police do their work, the prosecutors will prosecute...not you biased people here on GOPHERHOLE. The defenders will build their defenses. Not you biased people offering your spin on things.

Eventually blind justice will render a verdict.

In the meanwhile, just hope for the very best for the gravely injured young man.

You people are letting your egos get WAY out of hand here. You are calling each other names. Some of you are attempting to intimidate people you don't agree with. Talk about a bunch of kangaroo court people! And the other side is no better. You people should all be ashamed of yourselves. In the end, the truth will be brought forth. The legal system MUST be allowed to go to work.

What we have here is a tragic, tragic situation. The hatred I see coming from you people is pretty damn discouraging and totally disrespects the sadness, hurt, and loss connected with this entire situation. I would imagine that should this thing go to a jury trial, based upon what I am seeing here on GOPHERHOLE, finding unbiased jurors just may be a rather difficult and time consuming procedure.
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Amen, brother. I'd hate to see most of these people on any jury trial...reminds me of 12 Angry Men. There's something to be said for a little calm reflection and empathy in a situation like this, for everyone.
 

stcgopher said:
Care to elaborate?
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Sure. If a person gets sucker punched, it doesn't excuse them kicking that person's head hard enough to fracture their skull while they are motionless on the ground. By definition, law, and just pure common sense, that isn't self defense. You would have to be very stupid to not understand that.
 

Costa Rican Gopher said:
The details are starting to come out & that's a good thing. Instead of PN & his buddy attacking some innocent slob & then kicking his head in after he was obviously unconscious, it turns out a 280lb former college linebacker, sucker punched PN from behind so hard he floored him. Nelson obviously shouldn't have kicked the guy in the head, but it seems reasonable that he didn't observe IK & evaluate his condition before kicking him, but rather got himself up off the ground after getting blindsided & in a instinctual rage kicked the guy in retaliation. Again, I'm not saying kicking the guy in the head was ok. I am saying IK was a punk though. 280lb former college linebackers shouldn't be sucker punching people from behind outside of bars at 2am. Especially when they have a wife & baby at home, with another one due in a couple weeks. Sad story, lot's of stupid decisions made by all parties. I think PN's attorney will make a compelling case, backed by witnesses & video, that IK suffered the serious brain injury when he cracked his head on the concrete, not from PN's shoe & that had PN understood how badly he was hurt he wouldn't have kicked him.
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Kolstad must've really let himself go, given that he played at about 230.
 

Not referring to this case, but if two people engage in a straight-up fist fight, and one person sustains injuries, then people think the other should go to jail?
 

Johnny Olson said:
Minnesota Law is quite clear.

Subd. 10.Assault. "Assault" is:
(1) an act done with intent to cause fear in another of immediate bodily harm or death; or
(2) the intentional infliction of or attempt to inflict bodily harm upon another.

609.221 ASSAULT IN THE FIRST DEGREE.
Subdivision 1.Great bodily harm. Whoever assaults another and inflicts great bodily harm may be sentenced to imprisonment for not more than 20 years or to payment of a fine of not more than $30,000, or both.

Nelson was no longer under threat when he retaliated against Kolstad. It will not matter who started the incident.
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I regretfully beg to differ.

10 years ago my cousin (we were raised together so more like my brother) got into a fight with a guy he worked with after being antagonized by him over a long period of time. The guys public claim to be sleeping with my cousins wife is what set him off. My cousin ran into the guy at the gas station; my cousin grabbed a bat and went after the guy who was 50 lbs heavier and 3" taller. The bigger guy was able to get the bat away from my cousin, get behind him while holding the bat across his neck.

While 30 people stood in the parking lot begging the guy to stop choking him because he was unconscious and changing colors; he killed my cousin.

Result? Self defense, the state chose not to prosecute. It was a messed up situation but what choice did the state (Illinois) have, my cousin was the aggressor and he had a weapon.

Nelson? We should let his play out. Nobody in this situation deserves to beat to death; it could easily be Nelson fighting for his life because of a sucker punch (hit from behind...if reports are accurate).

Me? Like my grandmother use to say "if not for the grace of god it could have been me." When I was these kids age I fought on more than one occasion. And because it wasn't a "boxing" match, anything went. I operated on the premise it was better to get the first punch because there may not be a second and if the other guy went down do your best to make sure he stayed down (certainly not dead).

Was I wrong? Absolutely, and I thank god every day that I got an opportunity to grow up without something as tragic as this happening to me (putting someone in the hospital or being put in the hospital...or worse).

I'm praying for everyone involved.
 

One thought- Phillip Nelson is not some anonymous dude. He's a former Mankato HS star, and a current (or maybe former) D1 QB. So, the people who ID'd Nelson as the one doing the kicking may have a higher degree of credibility. It's a well-known fact that eye-witness testimony can be shaky, depending on the circumstances, but if the witnesses knew Nelson, then that should lend more credence to their testimony. They're not identifying a stranger - they're identifying someone they know. (assuming they knew him prior to the incident.)

Something else that will likely be a point of testimony. According to the accounts, Nelson "thought" Kolstad was the bouncer who was allegedly flirting with Nelson's girlfriend. It would be interesting to know if the bouncer resembles Kolstad.
 

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