WILLMAR -- Trevor Dean Miller, 29, of Montevideo, was sentenced Monday to 28 months in prison on a felony charge of third-degree assault for biting off a portion of another man's face.
As part of a plea agreement entered in Kandiyohi County District Court, another felony for first-degree assault in connection to the incident was dismissed. Miller was also ordered to pay a $50 fine and court fees from his prison earnings.
Judge Michael J. Thompson ordered that restitution in the case be reserved for 30 days.
The charges were filed after Willmar police were called around 4 a.m. May 31 to a home in the city's southeast quadrant.
On the way, the officer observed a shirtless white male and a female crossing Ninth Street Southeast.
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A man at the location of the call told the officer that Miller just bit a chunk out of someone's face and was walking toward Ninth Street Southeast.
The officer observed the victim, who had a shirt pressed to the left side of his face. The officer had him pull away the shirt and observed a large circular hole -- about 1 to 1½ inches in diameter -- that had completely been bitten away. The man was taken to Rice Memorial Hospital in Willmar for treatment.
The officer interviewed the man at the hospital, who said there had been some disagreement and fighting between girls at the party, including a girl who came to the party with Miller.
The man said he was about to leave the party when Miller said "I'm going to knock this guy out." He said Miller removed his shirt and attempted to start a fight and that he was backing away when Miller began punching him. They ended up on the ground, where Miller bit his face. He said he began yelling and that others pulled them apart, but that Miller continued to be latched onto his face and tore the skin he had bit into off his face.
The man began bleeding profusely and used his shirt to press on his face. He said he ran down the street away from Miller and stayed there until officers arrived.
The man was transported from Rice Hospital to St. Cloud Hospital and was treated by a plastic surgeon.
An amended complaint against Miller notes that the injury required surgery and that the man will have permanent scaring to his face.
The officer returned to the scene, where he saw a large amount of blood and found a piece of skin that was returned to Rice Hospital for possible reattachment.
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The officer then went to a home along Lakeland Drive and was flagged down by people there. The officer recognized Miller, who fled. The officer gave chase, stunned Miller with a Taser and handcuffed him. Miller said he had not been in a fight and claimed he did not know why the officer was chasing him. He was taken to the jail, where he claimed two men jumped him.
A review of court records revealed that Miller has a prior assault conviction in Chippewa County for biting off a portion of another man's ear during a fight in January 2001.
He was sentenced to a year and a day in prison, a $500 fine and ordered to pay $628 for the man's medical treatment.
He was also convicted in another assault and was sentenced July 7, 2005. It also showed that he recently was a fugitive from justice requiring his extradition to Florida on a felony battery charge. He waived extradition on Sept. 25, 2007.
