Jurors convicted a St. Paul man of jabbing his fingers into the eye of a bystander at a New Year's Eve celebration, permanently blinding the victim in one eye.
Kinseth C. Sorlien, 34, was convicted Thursday in Ramsey County District Court of one count of first-degree assault for the Jan. 1 incident at Governors Food and Drink on St. Paul's East Side.
His victim, Kent Gunter, 52, of Maplewood, had to have his left eye removed and now wears a prosthetic.
At trial, Assistant Ramsey County Attorney Lawrence Schultz said that Sorlien wanted to go home, but was delayed by his mother, who stopped to chat with Gunter.
An impatient and irritated Sorlien smacked the back of Gunter's head, and later, jabbed him in the eye about 1:15 a.m. when Gunter admonished him for the smack, Schultz told jurors.
Sorlien's attorney, Eric Nelson, told jurors that Sorlien was trying to catch his mother as she fell, and accidentally caught Gunter's eye.
The case was complicated by the fact that nearly all of the witnesses had been drinking that night, and because there was no surveillance video footage to corroborate either account of the assault.
Sorlien testified on his own behalf Thursday, contributing to the confusion by saying that he did not make contact with Gunter when Gunter's eye was injured, and then later testifying that he accidentally caused the injury.
