A Rice County Jury today convicted Casey Bauer of two counts of Felony Assault. Bauer, 27, of Randolph was charged with assaulting the victim with a baseball bat. The victim was in his garage when he was attacked by Bauer, who he knew. The victim defended himself with a folding knife, stabbing Bauer who fled and sought treatment for his wounds in Cannon Falls. Bauer was wearing a skeleton mask at the time of the assault, the night before Halloween. Bauer told the victim “tonight is the night you die,” and hit the victim in the head three times with the bat.
During the fight, the victim was able to remove the skeleton mask and identify Bauer as the perpetrator. The victim was able to pull a knife out of his pocket as he fell after being hit in the head and used the knife to ward off the attack. A neighbor called the police and Bauer fled.
The victim suffered serious injuries as result of the attack, including a concussion, and cuts and marks consistent with being kicked in the head. Bauer had also sent threatening text messages to the victim.
Assistant Rice County Attorney Craig Green tried the case. “Faribault Police and the other agencies involved did an excellent job investigating the case so the evidence could be fairly presented to the jury,” Rice County Attorney John Fossum said. “Bauer showed what a dangerous offender he is and it is lucky that he did not more seriously wound the victim,” Fossum added.
Sentencing is not yet scheduled, Bauer will be held in jail until the sentencing
