WILLMAR -- Spicer's mayor was sentenced Friday to a year of probation, stayed jail time and a $500 fine for a Sept. 1 bar brawl at Melvin's on the Lake in Spicer.
Before he was sentenced in Kandiyohi County District Court, Perry Scott Wohnoutka, 47, told Judge Michael J. Thompson that he had achieved just under 100 days of sobriety and apologized for embarrassing his family and constituents.
"I'm sorry this had to happen," Wohnoutka said. "I feel terrible about the embarrassment to my family, my support people, constituents and the citizens."
Wohnoutka credited Alcoholics Anonymous and treatment centers like Project Turnabout in Granite Falls for changing his life. "I perceive my future as very much brighter," he said. The mayor checked into the treatment center in early November.
Thompson stayed 88 days of the jail time for one year and gave Wohnoutka credit for two days already served. He also stayed $500 of the recommended $1,000 fine. The mayor will be eligible to do community work service for the fine, but must pay $87 in court fees in cash.
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Wohnoutka was also ordered to not enter businesses that serve alcohol as their primary business, but can go to a restaurant that serves alcohol. He was ordered to attend AA twice per week, verify his attendance and have a sponsor.
As part of a plea agreement reached Jan. 14, Wohnoutka pleaded guilty to an assault charge. In return, a misdemeanor charge for disorderly conduct was dismissed and a misdemeanor charge for tampering with a fire alarm was continued for dismissal for a year. That misdemeanor stemmed from a July 29 incident in which the mayor disabled the fire alarm at a senior apartment building in the city. It will be dismissed after a year's time provided Wohnoukta not interfere with any fire alarm systems.
Wohnoutka was charged with assault and disorderly conduct after he was arrested Sept. 1 at the popular Spicer establishment by Kandiyohi County sheriff's deputies. The mayor, who had spent the evening drinking at the establishment, allegedly hit two Melvin's employees. One of the men, a bouncer, was trying to assist the mayor onto his bicycle. The other, a bartender, was struck by Wohnoukta in the face after he grabbed the mayor by the shirt and told him to go home, according to the arrest report.
Prior to the incident, Melvin's owner Dave Baker had ordered bartenders to stop serving alcohol to Wohnoutka and had asked the mayor to leave the premises a number of times.
The arrest report also showed that Wohnoutka had a blood-alcohol content of 0.217, according to a breath test. Two deputies helped Wohnoutka into the Law Enforcement Center after the arrest, as Wohnoutka was having difficulty walking from the amount of alcohol he had consumed and was "very obviously intoxicated," according to the report.
