Axe handle assault leads to charges against Red Lake man

Federal charges have been filed against a 47-year-old Red Lake man accused of assaulting another man with an axe handle.

Joseph William Howard Jr. faces charges of assault with a deadly weapon and assault resulting in serious bodily injury, according to a news release issued by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Minneapolis.

An indictment filed against Howard claims he assaulted the victim, a Redby man, on Jan. 13 “without just cause.”

Court papers state law enforcement went to a home on the Red Lake Indian Reservation where they found the victim, whose face was severely beaten and lacerated. Officers said they found blood on the victim’s bed and bedroom walls and an axe handle was found in the home’s utility room.

The victim was airlifted to a Fargo, N.D., hospital, where he spent 10 days with multiple fractures and a ruptured left eye.

The news release states Howard could face up to 10 years in prison on each charge if convicted.