DULUTH – A 58-year-old Cloquet man has been charged with first-degree manslaughter after police say he and another man got into a fistfight early Tuesday.
According to charges filed Thursday, Joel J. Ammesmaki and an unidentified victim were drinking and watching TV together at Ammesmaki's home on Zhimaaganishag Road on the Fond du Lac Reservation. Police arrived around 2 a.m. after Ammesmaki called and said he "got in a fight with another male and wanted him removed from his apartment," charges say.
The victim allegedly tried to punch Ammesmaki but did not make contact. Ammesmaki said he "punched the deceased twice and he fell down," the charges state. While paramedics were providing care, Ammesmaki said "it wasn't supposed to go this way" and that when the victim fell he "thought he was sleeping."
Ammesmaki was conditionally released from jail Thursday without bail. His next court date is Sept. 27.
Brooks Johnson • 218-491-6496
