Duluth man sentenced for stabbing incident

A man who pleaded guilty to stabbing another man outside a bar on Cloquet Avenue in December 2009 was sentenced in Carlton County Court this week on one misdemeanor count of fifth-degree non-domestic assault.

Judge Robert Macaulay Jr. sentenced Clifton Allen Parker, 30, of Duluth to 35 days in the Carlton County Jail, with credit to be given for 23 days already served.

Parker originally was charged with one count of felony second-degree assault with a weapon and one count of felony terroristic threats in connection with the incident. He pleaded not guilty on both counts. As part of a plea agreement Monday, Parker amended his plea to guilty to misdemeanor fifth-degree assault, and the second charge against him was dropped.

Judge Macaulay agreed to keep Parker’s record open for 30 days to allow the prosecution to file an affidavit for restitution to the victim.

In the incident, Cloquet police were called to Mike’s Cloquet Bar and Lounge just before 9 p.m. Dec. 28 after a witness reported that a man had been stabbed with a knife.

The victim and suspect were gone when police arrived but they found the victim, 24-year-old James J. Westerberg of Cloquet, at Community Memorial Hospital, where he was being treated for a stab wound near the left side of his abdomen. He reportedly was treated and released for a wound at least an inch deep that required stitches. A 6-inch knife with a fixed blade was recovered at the scene.

According to court records, the two men involved knew each other and were in the bar before both went outside.

Wendy Johnson is a reporter

for the Duluth News Tribune, which is owned by Forum

Communications Co.

Tags: news, crime, stabbing, duluth