UPDATE: St. Michael Man Pleads Guilty to First-Degree Assault

Alex Tuomisto, the St. Michael native charged with second-degree murder after the victim of a 2010 bar fight died in December, pleaded guilty to first-degree assault in Wright County District Court Monday, Feb. 7.

Tuomsito, 24, was to appear for an omnibus hearing Monday, but attorneys representing him entered the guilty plea Monday morning.

A charge of second-degree, unintentional murder could be dismissed when Tuomisto is sentenced some time in mid-April.

According to a Wright County sheriff’s deputy report, Tuomisto punched then-31-year-old Adam Baker outside the Corner Bar after a scuffle moved outside and turned into an all-out brawl.

Defense witnesses reported Tuomisto was trying to control the situation, but punched Baker, according to documents filed by defense attorneys. The man's head hit the pavement and he never regained consciousness, reports said. Baker died in December, seven months after the assault.

According to the plea agreement, Tuomisto would serve no more than five years in jail and owe no more than $20,000 in restitution for his involvement. 

After he was arrested, Tuomisto explained he only hit Baker once, telling a deputy, "Damn. One punch," according to a report filed in Wright County. 

Wright County Attorney Tom Kelly said in December he was working with the defendant's law firm, which represented Tuomisto in the case, prior  the Feb. 5 hearing. He said he was keeping the Baker family informed during the negotiations process, and that any terms would, in effect, be discussed with Baker's survivors. 

"It's an unfortunate case all around," Kelly said. "The issue you have - a fight that spilled out of a bar - usually ends up with a disorderly conduct charge or a lower assault charge. But, with Adam's injuries and then his death, you wind up with a more serious set of charges." 

Judge Kathleen Motl will conduct the sentencing hearing, and will most likely abide by the terms reached in the plea agreement. 

Had Tuomisto faced the second-degree murder charge (accidental death), he could have faced up to 40 years in jail. 

First-degree assault was the original charge filed by the county while Baker, a former University of North Dakota student body president and native of Stillwater, was unconscious in a coma.