Rochester Man Sent to Prison For Machete Attack

Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News) - A Rochester teenager has been sentenced to more than two years in prison for a machete attack last year and a confrontation with the father of a Stewartville girl.

18-year-old Jacob Bale previously entered guilty pleas to two counts of second-degree assault and a charge of contributing to a minor being a runaway. Under the terms of his plea agreement, Olmsted County prosecutors dismissed a number of other charges, including aiding and abetting the dissemination of pornography.

In one case, Bale was accused of striking a juvenile male on the head with a machete during an altercation over some jewelry that had been stolen from Bale's grandmother. The dissemination of pornography charge dismissed through the plea agreement involved a nude photo of the victim in the machete attack with a caption describing him as a "snitch."

The other assault conviction stemmed from a confrontation between Bale and the father of a juvenile girl who had been reported missing. The father and a friend found the girl with Bale walking on North Broadway in Rochester and confronted him. According to the criminal complaint, Bale began punching and kicking the father and the other man before he pulled out a knife.

The 27-month prison sentence given to Bale today is on the higher end of the State Sentencing Guidelines. He was given credit for the 162 days he has already spent in jail.