Two men armed themselves with machetes and threatened people at a Duluth bar after being ejected for aggressive behavior, according to court documents.
Nicholas Joseph Ammesmaki, 31, of Duluth, faces charges of 2nd-degree assault with a dangerous weapon and fleeing a peace officer by a means other than a motor vehicle, following the June 15 confrontation at the Round Up Bar in Saint Louis County.
The complaint states that officers responded to the bar at about 3:40 p.m. after a bartender reported that two men had become intoxicated and aggressive, prompting him to cut them off and eject them. The bartender told officers that after he removed the men from the bar, they left but soon returned, each carrying a machete. The bartender said the men stood in the doorway, pointing and swinging the blades at people inside, making him feel threatened.
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A male patron described the men as shouting racial slurs and said he tried to de-escalate the situation at the door. He told officers that Ammesmaki wore a black tee-shirt and held a shorter machete, while the other man wore a white tee-shirt and carried a longer blade. The patron said he was only an arm’s length away from the men as they continued swinging the machetes and using racial slurs.
When officers arrived, bar patrons pointed out the two men as they left through the front door. According to court records, one man entered the passenger seat of a black Dodge Ram pickup in the parking lot, while Ammesmaki walked eastbound down the sidewalk away from the bar. An officer ordered Ammesmaki to stop and identify himself as police, but Ammesmaki kept walking and then sprinted away as he turned a corner. Officers chased and apprehended him.
Officers searching the area found a machete with a blade about 10 to 12 inches long between two vehicles along the path Ammesmaki had taken, which an officer saw him drop. Another machete, about 23 to 24 inches long, was found near the pickup truck.
Ammesmaki is charged with 2nd-degree assault for threatening people with a dangerous weapon and with fleeing a peace officer on foot.
The charges were filed Wednesday, June 17, in Saint Louis County District Court.
About This Charge
Minnesota classifies assault by degree under § 609.221 (first), § 609.222 (second), § 609.223 (third), § 609.2231 (fourth) and § 609.224 (fifth). First-degree assault, alleging great bodily harm, carries up to 20 years in prison. The lower degrees range from gross-misdemeanor up to 10-year felony exposure depending on weapon use and harm.
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Man Charged in Assault Outside Duluth Casino • Saint Louis Co. Man Charged with Sexual Assault After Victim Comes Forward • Man Charged After Officer Injured During Duluth Arrest
Jurisdictional Context
Saint Louis County is Minnesota’s largest county by area, stretching from Duluth to the Canadian border. The Saint Louis County Attorney’s Office prosecutes felonies through the Sixth Judicial District; cases are heard at the Saint Louis County Courthouse in Duluth and the Virginia courthouse for cases north of the iron range.
