BALSAM LAKE, WIS. – Jurors deciding the fate of a Minnesota man charged with killing a fellow fisherman along the St. Croix River will begin a third day of deliberations Monday morning after a day of talks on Sunday.
Jurors did not have any questions Sunday, defense attorney Eric Nelson said.
Levi Acre-Kendall, 20, of Cambridge, Minn., is being tried in Polk County Circuit Court in Balsam Lake, Wis., on one count each of first-degree reckless homicide, second-degree intentional homicide and second-degree reckless homicide.
Acre-Kendall is charged with fatally stabbing St. Croix Falls, Wis., resident Peter S. Kelly, 34, on April 14.
Acre-Kendall, who is claiming self-defense, testified that he stabbed Kelly because he feared for his life when Kelly pursued him and pulled him out of a car.
Kelly and his friend Ross Lechman were fishing on the Minnesota side of Interstate Park when they became upset with the foul language and marijuana use from Acre-Kendall and his three friends on the Wisconsin side. Kelly and Lechman later drove over in the dark of night and confronted them.
Lechman testified that he pushed Acre-Kendall to the ground after Acre-Kendall walked up to him and used profane language.
Acre-Kendall admitted in court that he then pulled out a knife to keep the men at bay. He said Kelly followed him as he walked around and sat in the front passenger seat of a friend's car, and that Kelly reached in and pulled him out in a shoulder lock.
