Man sentenced for savage beating

BEMIDJI -- A 48-year-old Red Lake man was sentenced in federal court Monday for beating another man with an axe handle in January, resulting in the victim losing an eye.

Joseph William Howard will serve eight years and nine months in prison, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office. The punishment was handed down by U.S. District Judge John Tunheim.

On January 13, Howard assaulted the victim at a Redby home, the release stated. Police found the victim in the home with a badly beaten and lacerated face. On the bed and walls of the room in which the victim was staying, police noted blood splatters, according to the release. The blood-soaked weapon was also found in the home. The victim suffered multiple facial fractures, and their left eye was so badly damage it had to be surgically removed.

Howard pleaded guilty to one count of assault resulting in serious bodily injury in May.