20-year-old Rothschild man found guilty in March beating death in Stevens Point

STEVENS POINT − It took a jury of seven men and five women about an hour and a half Thursday afternoon to find a 20-year-old Rothschild man guilty of the March 15 beating death of Donald Mitchell Jr., 61, in a downtown Stevens Point parking lot.

Arlin O. Sangster was found guilty of being a party to the crimes of first-degree reckless homicide of an elder person and misdemeanor theft in Mitchell's death.

Sangster's codefendant, Brandon L. Boehm, 20, of Wausau, took the stand Wednesday. When Boehm said he planned to exercise his right not to incriminate himself, Portage County Circuit Judge Louis Molepske Jr. invoked a state law that will keep anything Boehm said on the stand for Sangster's trial from being used against Boehm during his own court case. Boehm has an arraignment scheduled for Sept. 3 for being a party to the crime of first-degree reckless homicide of an elder person.

Christian J. Emerson, 19, of Wausau, is the third defendant in the case. Emerson entered a not guilty plea April 4 to being a party to the crime of first-degree reckless homicide of an elder person. A five-day trial for Emerson is scheduled to begin Jan. 27.

According to court documents, at 11:45 p.m. March 15, a caller reported an unconscious man who had been beaten up in a parking lot in the 1100 block of Center Point Drive in downtown Stevens Point. Officers found Mitchell in the parking lot. He was unresponsive and bleeding out of his nose.

An ambulance took Mitchell to Aspirus Stevens Point Hospital and he was flown to Aspirus Wausau Hospital the next morning where he died later that day. Mitchell had nearly every bone in his face fractured and multiple fractured ribs. An autopsy determined Mitchell died from blunt force head injuries.

On March 15, Sangster, Emerson and Boehm went to a tavern in Stevens Point but were refused entry because they were underage, according to court documents. They later started looking in vehicles in the Center Point Drive parking lot where Mitchell had been living out of his truck. Witnesses heard Mitchell yell about someone taking something from his truck.

Witnesses saw three men punching Mitchell, Mitchell fall to the ground and at least one of the men kicking him, according to court documents.

Mitchell was in a tough spot in his life, Portage County District Attorney Cass Cousins said during closing arguments Thursday morning. Mitchell was part of a growing number of people who fall into the category of working homeless, Cousins said.

Mitchell was in his camper streaming a movie or watching TV on his cellphone when, through no fault of his own, he became a victim of theft, Cousins said. Mitchell confronted the person, Boehm, and wound up fatally injured.

The most important evidence the jury saw this week was the testimony of two people who witnessed the fight between Mitchell, Boehm, Sangster and Emerson, Cousins said. They had no bias and just wanted to do the right thing.

Daemon Kitzrow, who was with the three men on March 15, was nervous when he testified Tuesday and wanted to give evidence to show his friends in the best possible light, Cousins said. Video from city and private cameras in the area showed some of Kitzrow's testimony was mistaken, but he was the closest person to the fight and saw what happened.

Kitzrow said Sangster threw a punch from behind and hit Mitchell in the side of the face, Cousins said.

Testimony from Dr. Robert Corliss, forensic pathologist, as well as doctors who treated Mitchell, showed he had multiple broken bones in his face and head, as well as broken ribs, Cousins said. The cause of death was multiple blunt force hits, he said.

Although Kitzrow said Sangster caught Mitchell, lowered him to the ground and then moved him away from the other men, Mitchell fell after being hit by Sangster and hit his head on the pavement, Cousins said.

Cousins asked the jury to consider the evidence and find Sangster guilty.

This case is about unforeseen consequences, Defense Attorney Greg Venturini told the jury during his closing arguments. When Sangster woke up the morning of March 15, he thought it was going to be like any other day. He was finally graduating from high school soon. He went and cooked pork chops for 10 of his friends.

Boehm showed up late to the party, Venturini said. For the first time Sangster would become part of Boehm’s world, Venturini said.

It was Boehm who decided to check unlocked vehicles for valuables when the group drove down to Stevens Point but couldn’t get into the nightclub, Icon. Kitzrow said Sangster didn’t want to join in on the thefts, Venturini said.

When Kitzrow went to retrieve a set of forgotten car keys, it was Sangster sitting in the car while Emerson and Boehm were out in the parking lot, Venturini said. After Emerson returned and Boehm came back being chased by Mitchell, Sangster shouted at Mitchell trying to get him to calm down.

When Sangster got out of the car, he tried to de-escalate the situation, Venturini said. Boehm had testified that Sangster first threw a fake punch, which didn’t hit Mitchell. Venturini said it was a warning to Mitchell. Although Boehm said Sangster threw multiple punches, Kitzrow said he saw Sangster throw only one.

Venturini questioned Stevens Point Detective Kent Lepak's interpretation of what was seen on videos from businesses in the area. It was a Friday night in Stevens Point, Venturini said. There was no way to know who else may have been walking around the parking lot, gotten into the video and been mistaken for one of the defendants, Venturini said.

Kitzrow isn't facing charges and was the closest to the fight. Venturini questioned why Cousins was more willing to listen to Boehm's version of things than that of Kitzrow.

Molepske ordered a presentence investigation done on Sangster. He scheduled Sangster's sentencing for Dec. 3. Sangster faces a maximum of 40 years in prison for the reckless homicide charge plus an additional six years because the victim was elderly.

Contact Karen Madden at 715-345-2245 or kmadden@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @KMadden715, Instagram @kmadden715 or Facebook at www.facebook.com/karen.madden.33.

This article originally appeared on Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune: Stevens Point beating death: Jury finds Arlin Sangster guilty Thursday