Stabbing trial begins for Velarde

Christopher Velarde

The next date the two men would see the hat was in court as a piece of crime scene evidence that would link them together.

Velarde, 24, of Le Mars, is being tried this week for allegedly stabbing Thompson in the abdomen and injuring a young woman with a knife that same night after leaving the bar, Dingers.

Velarde has pleaded not guilty to both charges: one is a felony and one is an aggravated misdemeanor.

The trial began with jury selection Tuesday morning in the Plymouth County Courtroom. It continued in the afternoon with the first testimonies of witnesses and law enforcement officers who responded to the scene.

The trial continues Wednesday.

Here are some of the facts according to evidence and witness testimony:

*A fight took place at about 2 a.m. on the sidewalk of the 100 block of Central Avenue South, near Dingers Bar and Keith Langel CPA.

*After the fight, Thompson, 27, of Le Mars, was bleeding from a 1-inch stab wound in his left side about 4 inches from his navel. He was treated at Floyd Valley Hospital and released.

*A woman, Melody Ropte, 31, of Le Mars, was also bleeding from a cut in her left hand. She was also treated and released.

*Velarde, who was fighting with Thompson, left the scene on foot and ended up about six blocks away in the basement of a house at 24 Second Ave. N.W. across the street from the KLEM radio station office.

*Shane Presuhn, 30, of Le Mars, was near the fight scene that night. He followed Velarde on foot to Second Avenue. Presuhn had seen other bar fights, but this one was different, he said.

"All the previous altercations I've witnessed, it was just a couple of fists thrown, a little struggle outside the bar," Presuhn said. "This involved blood, a weapon of some sort."

*When law enforcement officers arrived at the house where Velarde was, several of the witnesses had already caught up with Velarde and taken him out of the basement, holding him captive until authorities arrested him.

*Velarde was booked into the Plymouth County Jail. He is being held there on a $10,000 bond.

*No charges were filed against Thompson or Ropte.

*A bloody knife was discovered in the washing machine in the basement where Velarde had allegedly been hiding.

It will be up to the jury to decide whether there is enough evidence to convict Velarde of both or either charges.

The willful injury charge, a class C felony, is punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a $1,000 minimum fine. The assault charge, and aggravated misdemeanor, is punishable by up to two years in jail and a minimum fine of $500.

Witness testimony for the prosecution continues today, and the defense will also present the case on behalf of Velarde before the jury deliberates.