Three men face felony charges for Halloween stabbing in hotel parking lot

GILLETTE (WNE) — Three men have been charged with felonies for allegedly beating up a 42-year-old man on Halloween night.

Justus Pearson, 27, and Rye Sorenson, 27, are being charged with aggravated assault and battery, while Preston Relkin, 24, is being charged with conspiracy to commit aggravated assault and accessory before the fact, as well as battery.

On October 31, police responded to a reported aggravated assault at the Best Western Tower West hotel. When they arrived, they saw the three men backing away from a 42-year-old man, who had a stab wound in his right leg, according to an affidavit of probable cause.

The victim said the three suspects had chased him from Fireside Bar, and he lost his balance and fell to the ground. They kicked him in the head and punched him multiple times. He said he heard one of the suspects say, “get his knife” and “I am going to cut his ears.”

The two other men allegedly restrained and hit the victim while the third suspect stabbed him.

A witness told police that he saw the victim being pushed out of Fireside by three or four men, and he tried to break up the fight. He pulled a man in a blue shirt with a mustache off of the pile, and saw that he had a knife, according to court documents.

The man with the knife was later identified as Pearson, and police learned the knife belonged to the victim.

Sorenson told police that he, Pearson and Relkin had heard that the victim was a pedophile, and they had told the victim that he was not welcome at Fireside. Sorenson said that when they saw the victim at the bar that night, they decided to confront him.

Sorenson described the confrontation as a “beatdown,” but didn’t remember anything about the knife.

This story was published on December 31, 2024.