Four young males have been arrested after the senseless, brutal beating of a man on a late-night walk Sunday on St. Paul's East Side, police said Friday.
One of the four men Isaac Maiden (Courtesy of KARE-TV)
The victim, Ray Widstrand, 26, of St. Paul, reportedly was in critical condition at Regions Hospital with potentially fatal brain swelling.
Police found Widstrand lying on the ground, bleeding from his nose and mouth, his pants removed and shirt torn, according to a criminal complaint filed by the Ramsey County attorney's office.
"He's in the most difficult time right now, as far as swelling and cranial pressure. We're in that critical time," his father, Peter Widstrand, said.
According to the complaint, Widstrand was attacked when he tried to walk through a group of
Ray Widstrand (Photo courtesy of Suburban Community Channels)
"An innocent man was walking down the street and brutally attacked by a group of youth," said Sgt. Paul Paulos, a police spokesman. "He was out for a walk and decided to go through this group and was assaulted and knocked unconscious."
On Friday, Ramsey County prosecutors charged Issac Maiden, 19, of St. Paul with first-degree assault, first-degree aggravated robbery and crime committed for the benefit of a gang.
Maiden, who was arrested Wednesday, was being held in the Ramsey County Jail with bail set at $150,000. A preliminary court hearing was scheduled for Aug. 23.
Meanwhile, three juvenile males were arrested Friday, authorities said.
A neighbor who saw Sunday's fight from her window said the brawl erupted in the middle of Preble Street just south of Minnehaha Avenue.
She said dozens of people appeared to be attacking each other in groups. She said the crowd dispersed at the sound of police sirens.
Afterward, she said, she saw a person lying on the corner of Preble and Minnehaha.
The county attorney's office said many of the fight's participants were believed to be members of the East Side Boys gang or its younger affiliate, Ham Crazy.
County Attorney John Choi vowed in a statement to prosecute anyone accused of taking part in the fight.
Widstrand works as a producer for Suburban Community Channels, a White Bear Lake-based provider of community TV in Ramsey and Washington counties. He grew up in New Brighton and graduated from Irondale High School, his family said.
His father said Widstrand had never "expressed any concerns" about the area where he lived.
"He loved where he found his apartment. He was excited about it. He was excited to have his own place," his sister, Alice Widstrand, said during a news conference Friday evening at police headquarters. More
