A man from Winona, Minn., pleaded guilty Wednesday to second-degree murder after a man he stabbed in the knee last September died four days later.
Under a plea agreement, Sean Emmons, 38, would serve 12 years in exchange for dropping an assault charge, as well as felony assault and drug charges in five other cases. A sentencing date is set for July 15.
According to court records, the victim called Winona police to an apartment on E. Ninth Street on Sept. 13, 2021, to report Emmons had broken into the place two days prior and stabbed the victim in his left knee during a brawl.
Officers got limited information from the victim, who was in "excruciating pain." The victim was taken to a hospital in La Crosse, Wis. The victim was intubated on Sept. 14 and died the following day.
An autopsy report shows the victim died "as a result of complications from a stab wound of the left lower extremity."
Witnesses told police the victim and Emmons had told people how Emmons sneaked into the apartment on Sept. 11 through a window and punched the sleeping victim awake over a domestic situation.
One witness said they tried to clean the victim's wound but the victim refused treatment. Other witnesses said the victim had initially refused to go to the hospital or call the police, saying he was "too scared."
Emmons was previously convicted on assault charges in six separate instances from 2005 to 2018, including assault with a dangerous weapon in Ramsey County in 2007.