Police say a New London man stabbed a bar patron in the leg during a fight at the Damn Yankees Watering Hole in the town of Liberty.
Austin E. Suprise, 20, is charged with second-degree reckless endangerment and misdemeanor battery with the use of a weapon.
According to the criminal complaint:
On April 9, at 9:55 a.m., Outagamie County Sheriff’s Deputy Scott Sweetman was dispatched to Damn Yankees to speak with the owner. She said a customer reported he had been stabbed in the leg during a fight two nights earlier.
The bar owner provided Sweetman security camera footage of the incident.
The footage shows that on April 7 at 1:10 a.m., Suprise approaches the customer and throws the man’s hat on the floor. The man pushes Suprise to the floor and the two wrestle. Suprise hits the man in the head with a bar stool.
A bystander stops Suprise from striking the man with a second bar stool. Then Suprise exits the bar.
A second security video recorded outside shows Suprise walking down the stairs and returning upstairs with an object in his right hand that causes a glare. Suprise slips on something, falling down on the patio.
The man he had been fighting with exits the bar and strikes Suprise at least five times in the head and neck.
Suprise is seen making a stabbing motion toward the man’s right leg with his right hand. He is also seen swinging the object toward the man’s head but missing. Bystanders break up the fight.
During the investigation, Sweetman spoke with the man who had been stabbed.
He told Sweetman he entered the restroom after the fight outside and noticed his calf was bleeding but believed the injury had been caused by a broken bottle. He said he did not realize he had been stabbed until he was at home later in the day April 7.
The video footage shows the man pointing out his injury to others in the bar and people treating his leg by wrapping it in a towel.
Suprise faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted of reckless endangerment.
He is out of jail on a $5,000 signature bond. His preliminary hearing is set for May 16.