MANKATO, Minn. - The man who admitted throwing a punch that left a former Minnesota State, Mankato football player with severe brain injuries was sentenced Friday to 150 days in county jail.
Trevor Shelley of St. Peter pleaded guilty in March to felony first-degree assault in the after-bar attack that left Isaac Kolstad near death. "8 seconds and multiple lives were changed forever," lamented Blue Earth County District Judge Bradley Walker.
Prosecutors had asked for a full year in jail, citing the brutality of the assault.
Kolstad underwent a number of surgeries and spent months learning to walk and talk again. Some of the impacts of his brain injuries will be permanent. "Isaac's life will be on hold forever," his mother said during a victim impact statement as part of the sentencing process. "My hope is that you'll never have to live through the hell we've lived," she told Shelley.
She also noted how Shelley ran from the scene following the sucker punch that Isaac never saw coming. "While I begged God to spare his life, you hid," she said.
Philip Nelson, a former University of Minnesota quarterback, was accused of kicking Kolstad in the head after the punch as he lay on the sidewalk. Nelson ended his case with a plea deal and avoided jail time.
As part of the plea deal entered in Blue Earth County District Court March 23, Shelley will serve the 150 days, with credit for 5 days already served. He will also serve 5 years probation following his release.
If he had been found guilty on the most serious charges Shelley could have faced 20 years in prison.
The sentencing was followed by the announcement of a civil lawsuit filed against Shelley, Phillip Nelson, and the two downtown Mankato establishments that served the men drinks that fateful night. Those establishments are Blue Bricks and The South Street Saloon. Kolstad family attorney Ken White said Friday morning that all parties involved in the lawsuit have been served papers.