A St. Paul attorney pleaded guilty Tuesday to threatening to kill his 7-year-old son during a June incident at his home.
St. Paul lawyer pleads guilty to threatening his son
September 28, 2011 at 12:16AM
John Akwuba, 52, pleaded guilty in Ramsey County District Court to felony terroristic threats. A felony charge of domestic assault by strangulation, which has a lesser maximum penalty, will be dismissed.
A neighbor called police June 18 to report that she saw Akwuba punching a child at least 30 times about 11 p.m., according to the criminal complaint. When police arrived, they saw a car rocking violently in an open garage and a 4-year-old and a 2-year-old watching.
Akwuba was yelling, "I'm going to kill you" and police saw his arm come down and heard a child screaming, the complaint said. While police tried to pull him away, Akwuba punched his son in the face.
Akwuba's blood alcohol level was at 0.102 percent. His wife told police that he becomes angry and aggressive when he drinks. Akwuba, who has been licensed to practice law since 1997, told police that his son has a discipline problem.
Akwuba is scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 6.
LORA PABST
about the writer
LOCAL FICTION: Featuring stories within stories, she’ll discuss the book at Talking Volumes on Tuesday.
