Rosemount teen sentenced to juvenile facility for throwing punch at Harriet Island that killed Vietnam vet

Nick Ferraro, Pioneer Press
·4 min read
2
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.

An 18-year-old Rosemount man was sentenced Tuesday to a juvenile correctional facility for punching a Vietnam veteran in the face at Harriet Island Regional Park in an assault that led to the victim’s death weeks later.

Wyatt Daniel Doerfler admitted in Ramsey County District Court this month that he punched Thomas Dunne after confronting the 76-year-old in a parking lot on Jan. 28. At Regions Hospital, Dunne had several fractures to both his eye socket and nose. He died Feb. 23 while hospitalized.

The defense and prosecution agreed to have the case designated as extended juvenile jurisdiction in exchange for Doerfler’s guilty plea to first-degree manslaughter while committing fifth-degree assault.

Also part of the June 5 plea, Doerfler, who turned 18 two months after the attack, was given a stayed adult sentence of eight years in prison, which means he could serve that time in an adult prison if he violates the terms of his probation. Extended juvenile jurisdiction offenders are under the juvenile court’s supervision until they are 21.

The plea deal also moved the case to Dakota County, where Doerfler lives. At Tuesday’s disposition hearing, Dakota County District Judge Jamie Cork heard arguments from both sides and victim impact statements from Dunne’s family, including his widow, Helen Broderick, before sentencing Doerfler to a long-term treatment program at the Minnesota Correctional Facility in Red Wing.

Doerfler will be required to complete aggression replacement training during the one-year program. He will have in-court reviews every 90 days.

“They’re going to teach you how to deal with that anger, or that impulsivity that you have,” Cork told Doerfler. “They’re going to teach you about loss of life … and the pain that you’ve caused everybody, so you don’t do that again. Consequences for your actions.”

Doerfler originally was charged with first-degree assault causing great bodily harm. Charges were upgraded to manslaughter on April 24 after a final autopsy report found Dunne, of St. Paul, died of “probable complications of assault,” according to the amended juvenile petition.

Dunne fought two tours in Vietnam as a Marine and went on to serve in the Minnesota National Guard and the Army Reserve in Wisconsin, retiring as command sergeant major. He was a hero, his widow told the Pioneer Press four days after his death.

She said in court Tuesday they had just finished a walk at the riverfront park — and that he had a cookie in one hand and his phone in the other when he was attacked.

“Tom played by the rules, served his country and his community, and lived a life of giving back and enriching those around him,” she said. “An attack on him was an attack on the very fiber that upholds our society.”

‘Yeah, that was me’

Officers were called to the 100 block of Water Street after Broderick reported her husband had been punched in the face. Officers found Dunne standing next to his car with blood streaming from his right eye socket. St. Paul fire medics were called to the scene.

Dunne told officers he saw a male urinating and took out his phone to take a picture, when two other males got out of a blue Ford Fusion. They approached him and tried to take his phone, and one of them punched him in the face.

A witness told police she saw a male urinating in the park. She said three males then confronted Dunne and one of them slapped the phone out of his hand and punched him in the face. She said she yelled at them before they walked away, headed east.

Officers saw three males walking east along the river and asked if they were involved in a fight. Doerfler spoke up and said, “Yeah, that was me,” the petition says. He declined to give a formal statement.

Related Articles

One teen told police they confronted Dunne because they believed he was recording them and that he should have “minded his business.”

The third teen said he couldn’t find a public bathroom and began urinating. Doerfler and the other teen walked over and Doerfler “indicated that (Dunne) was recording or taking a picture of him,” the petition says. Doerfler then approached Dunne, punching him twice.

“There were absolutely no photos of Wyatt and his friend on Tom’s phone,” Broderick said Tuesday.

She said her husband lost sight in his right eye despite three hours of surgery.

Dunne was discharged from Regions on Jan. 29 with instructions to receive follow-up care. Five days later, he was readmitted to Regions due to complications stemming from the injuries, the petition says.

“The experience felt like a nightmare that had no beginning and no end,” Broderick said.

Medical records indicate Dunne had contracted an infection that continued to progress and ultimately led to him being placed on a ventilator on Feb. 13. He died 10 days later.

Dunne was buried at Fort Snelling on March 5 with full military honors, “which he so richly deserved,” Broderick said. “He did not deserve to be struck down in the middle of a life he was actively living and loved.”

Related Articles