Mason City man pleads guilty, sentenced for Garner bar fight

GARNER — It’s a guilty plea and jail time for a Mason City man who was charged with assault after a bar fight in Garner earlier this year.

36-year-old Jamie Paulsen was accused of striking a male patron inside of Matt’s Place in Garner on May 7th. A criminal complaint stated Paulsen was then escorted out the front door of the bar, but then proceeded to the back door where he ran into one of the bartenders and struck him in the face. The altercation continued in the back alley involving most of the bar’s patrons, with Paulsen allegedly assaulting four people in total.

Three of the assaults caused minor injuries, while the fourth victim had to be transported to the hospital to be treated for a possible severe concussion, possible broken orbital bone and possible broken hand.

Paulsen had pleaded not guilty to a charge of assault causing bodily injury, but pleaded guilty on Monday to the charge as part of a plea agreement with prosecutors, who recommended a seven-day jail term and a $430 fine. Judge Karen Salic agreed with the recommendation during a sentencing hearing in Hancock County District Court on Monday.