St. Louis County judge sentences man to 18 years for fatal punch outside bar

DULUTH, Minn. - A man convicted of fatally punching a man outside a bar in St. Louis County has been sentenced to a maximum 18 years in prison.

Paul Welle knocked Dale Anderson onto a concrete slab outside the Powerhouse Bar in Proctor last November. Testimony at trial indicated Anderson was trying to protect a woman from Welle's unwanted advances.

A jury in September found the 33-year-old Elk River man guilty of second-degree murder and first-degree manslaughter. The Duluth News Tribune ( http://tinyurl.com/b9vm6n7) reports Welle ran from the scene of the crime, then told investigators Anderson attacked him first and that he was defending himself.

___