Velarde gets light sentence in stabbing trial

A Le Mars man on trial for stabbing another local man in a fight got a light conviction Wednesday in court.

Christopher Velarde, 24, was found guilty of simple assault by a jury.

That's a much lighter conviction than he originally faced.

He originally faced a felony charge -- willful injury -- and another aggravated misdemeanor -- aggravated assault, which could have landed him in prison for up to seven years total.

The simple assault charge is a simple misdemeanor.

Velarde was arrested on April 28 after a fight that broke out at 2 a.m. on a sidewalk on Central Avenue near Dinger's Bar and Keith Langel CPA.

Two people, Joshua Thompson, 26, and Melody Ropte, 30, of Le Mars received non-life-threatening stab wounds or knife cuts, according to the original report from the Le Mars Police Department.

Thompson had a 1-inch stab in is abdomen and a cut on his neck, and Ropte received a cut on her hand. Both were treated that night at Floyd Valley Hospital and released.

After the fight, Velarde tried to run away from the scene of the crime on foot, but witnesses chased him down, according to the police.

Witness and police testimony in court stated that Velarde was finally captured six blocks away from the original fight scene. He was hiding in a basement of a house on Second Avenue Northwest, across from the KLEM radio station.

A bloody pocketknife was found in the washing machine in that same basement.

Velarde was booked into the Plymouth County Jail.

No charges were filed against Thompson or Ropte.

No fingerprints or blood samples were taken to link the knife or blood to anyone involved that night.

None of the witnesses recall actually seeing the knife in Velarde's hand.

Velarde's trial began Tuesday and continued Wednesday.

The jury heard closing arguments Wednesday and spent more than four hours deliberating before making their decision.

For the jury to give Velarde the full conviction of the willful injury felony, the state prosecutor would have to prove that Velarde not only assaulted Josh Thompson, but also that Velarde intended to cause serious injury to Thompson and that Thompson sustained a bodily injury.

For the jury to give Velarde the full conviction on the aggravated assault charge, the state would have to prove that Velarde committed an assault on Ropte and that he used or displayed a knife.

The jury decided that there was not enough proof to give these full convictions.

They did agree that the state proved Velarde assaulted Thompson, resulting in the simple assault charge.

After hearing the jury's verdict late Wednesday afternoon, Judge Jeff Neary sentenced Velarde to 30 days in prison, giving the defendant credit for time he already spent in jail.

He would have been free to go, but he still faces two unresolved charges:

*interference with official acts, a simple misdemeanor, stemming from the night of the stabbing.

*assault causing bodily injury, a serious misdemeanor. This assault charge stems from an incident at the Plymouth County Jail where Velarde allegedly assaulted another inmate causing bodily injury on July 22, 2008.