A Callaway man has been sentenced to more than five years in to prison for three incidents involving beating his live-in girlfriend, stealing a car and leading police on a highway chase.
Paul Arthur Wichmann, 44, of 114 Wisconsin St., Callaway, was charged with first-degree burglary - assault and felony domestic assault in the original incident, which begin on Nov. 20, after he was released from the Clay County Jail.
According to court records:
On Nov. 26, tribal police officers were called to a Callaway residence on a report of a domestic assault. The homeowner told them that another woman had come to her residence about 11 a.m. that day to escape constant assaults by Wichmann.
Throughout the day, Wichmann called the victim on her cell phone, and finally about 4 p.m. he went to the homeowner's house, kicked open a locked door, dragged out the victim, and punched her in the face.
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The victim told officers that she had been in a relationship with Wichmann for 16 months and they had lived together in Callaway since July.
He got out of the Clay County Jail on Nov. 20, and allegedly begin to assault her the next day and continued to assault her on multiple occasions for the next five days.
An officer observed multiple bruises on her body, including on her face, chest, arms and legs.
The assaults were allegedly for things like her failing to wake him up early enough one day.
Wichmann would not let the victim go to a doctor's appointment at one point during that period because he didn't want anyone to see the bruises.
In early December, he skipped a court hearing on the charges and ended up stealing a Chevy Trailblazer, leading law enforcement officers on a chase that ended in his arrest.
Becker County Sheriff's Investigator Kathy Nguyen attempted to stop the white Chevrolet Trailblazer as it traveled northbound on Highway 59 north of Detroit Lakes.
After Nguyen activated the squad car's flashing lights and siren, the Trailblazer sped up and begin passing other vehicles.
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The chase reached speeds of 120 mph and eventually traveled into Mahnomen County, where deputies and tribal police officers joined the pursuit.
The Trailblazer eventually turned northbound onto Highway 113, and eventually drove back into Becker County. Officers used squad cars to stop the vehicle near the intersection with Becker County Road 35. A bottle of Canadian Whiskey was found on the passenger seat.
Wichmann screamed, cried, and yelled incoherently on the way to jail, then became unresponsive. He was taken to the hospital, given a clean bill of health, and taken back to jail
In yet another incident, he was charged with felony third degree assault -- substantial bodily harm, felony domestic assault and felony violating a domestic abuse no-contact order and gross misdemeanor interfering with an emergency call.
Although Wichmann had seriously beaten her in the recent past, his girlfriend let him into the house after he called and said he had nowhere else to stay.
He started drinking straight whiskey and the next morning woke up angry and begin assaulting the woman, beating and kicking her for about two hours.
When she picked up the phone and told him to leave or she would call police, he allegedly took the phone away and hit her some more. He threw her down a flight of stairs twice during the two-hour assault.
He had screwed each outside door shut so nobody could enter or leave the house except through a sliding glass door in the kitchen. She hid until he left the kitchen, then ran to a friend's house. She was transported to Innovis hospital in Fargo with a possible skull fracture.
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He also has two prior assault convictions in North Dakota, in 1999 and 2000.
He appeared for sentencing in Becker County District Court Wednesday before District Judge Peter Irvine.
On the original multiple-day assault file, he was sentenced to 63 months in prison and ordered to pay a $50 fine plus court fees from his prison pay. He must pay $516 restitution.
The other sentences run concurrently.
On the car theft/high-speed chase file, Irvine sentenced him to 15 months in prison and a $50 fine and court fees to come from prison pay. He must pay $3,600 restitution.
On the second assault file, he was sentenced to 21 months in prison, a $50 fine plus court fees to come from prison pay, and was ordered to pay $436 in restitution to the victim.
