A fund has been set up for the St. Paul man who was badly beaten a few weeks ago on the city's East Side.

An entry posted Tuesday afternoon on Ray Widstrand's CaringBridge website said that donations can be made at any Wells Fargo Bank to "Ray's Fund." All money will go toward Widstrand's medical bills, surgeries and rehabilitation, the posting said.

Widstrand, 26, was returning to his apartment Aug. 4 when he walked through a crowd at Payne and Minnehaha Avenues. Police were called to the area about 11:30 p.m. and found 40 to 50 juveniles and young adults fleeing, according to court documents. Widstrand was on the ground, bleeding from his nose and mouth.

Widstrand suffered severe, potentially fatal brain swelling, and was initially placed in a coma at Regions Hospital. He was slowly taken out of the coma last week, and doctors had begun taking him off his ventilator for short periods of time. According to his CaringBridge site Tuesday, he was being moved from the intensive care unit to a "long-term, acute-care hospital."

According to charges filed against Issac Maiden, 19, witnesses said a group of girls got into a fight outside a party. People gathered to watch, and when Widstrand walked into the crowd, he was knocked to the ground, kicked and stomped on.

Three juvenile males have also been charged in the case. Police believe some of the assailants are members of the East Side Boyz gang or their affiliate, the Ham Crazy gang.

Chao Xiong