Man Involved in Joe Geike Assault Avoids Prison…Again
Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News) - A Detroit man is being given another chance to stay out of prison for his involvement in a brutal assault in Rochester nearly 10-years ago.
In 2010, 30-year-old Ricardo Thornton was given a stayed 7 ½ year prison sentence and was placed on probation for 20 years after he entered an Alford plea to a first-degree assault charge stemming from a brutal attack on a Rochester man in 2008. The Alford plea means for did not admit guilt, but acknowledged there was sufficient evidence to convict him. Thorton was among a group of young man accused of being involved in an altercation that left RCTC football player Joe Geike with significant and permanent injuries.
Thornton was brought back before in Olmsted County Judge on Friday because of some probation violations, including an assault case in Detroit last December. Judge Pamela King had the option of executing Thornton’s stayed prison term, but instead ordered him to spend another 90 days in the Olmsted County jail and remain on probation until October 2032.
Another man convicted in the case was sentenced to 7 years in prison in 2014 after he violated the terms of his probation. 26-year-old Howard Risher was also given a stayed prison sentence and was placed on probation for 20 years following his conviction in the Geike case.
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