WILLMAR -- A 25-year-old Willmar man faces pending assault charges for allegedly breaking a local business owner’s jaw during an altercation Sunday during a sports team practice at the National Guard Armory in Willmar.
Keante Rasheed Johnson remains in custody at the Kandiyohi County Jail pending a potential felony charge of third-degree assault and misdemeanor charges of fifth-degree assault and disorderly conduct, according to a news release issued Tuesday afternoon by the Willmar Police Department.
The man injured in the assault, Steve Peppin, 36, was taken to North Memorial Hospital and underwent surgery for a broken jaw, according to his Facebook page. Peppin owns the West Central Broncos semi-professional football team, along with a local sport’s bar and barber shop.
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Willmar Police were reportedly called to the armory on the report of a fight and arrived to find Peppin with “significant injuries to his face,” according to the press release.
Witnesses then identified Johnson as the suspect in the assault and reportedly said he fled the scene.
At about 3:35 p.m. today agents from the CEE-VI Drug and Gang Task Force located Johnson at a local business and made a probable cause arrest.
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