ÍáÍáÂþ»­

PENNINGTON COUNTY, Minn. — A Thief River Falls man accused of attempted second-degree murder pleaded guilty to a lesser crime Monday, Aug. 19.

Paul Gregory Piche, 37, offered a Norgaard plea to a first-degree assault charge. This means he acknowledges there's enough evidence to convict him, but he cannot admit to the crime because he doesn't remember it due to inebriation.

Piche was originally charged with felony attempted second-degree murder, felony first-degree assault causing great bodily harm, felony second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon and gross misdemeanor harassment.

A plea agreement has been filed which, if accepted by the court, would dismiss all but Piche's first-degree assault charge, according to court documents.

A Pennington County sheriff's deputy was dispatched to the Seven Clans Casino on May 23, 2022, to investigate a crash between a pickup and motorcycle, according to a probable cause statement filed in the case.

According to the statement, a woman contacted her husband shortly before the crash, saying she was being followed by an unknown male — later identified as Piche — in a pickup truck.

After realizing she was being followed, she stopped at a bank in Thief River Falls. Piche stopped there, too, but did not use the ATM, according to the woman's statement to law enforcement.

She asked Piche why he was following her. He was fidgeting constantly, she said, and asked about what she did for a living.

She believed Piche was going to leave her alone after this interaction, but when she drove off, he followed her, the statement said.

Calling her husband, he instructed her to go to the casino, where there was security personnel, and said he would meet her there. The woman parked near the casino entrance, and the suspect vehicle pulled up directly behind her, the statement said.

Her husband arrived and confronted Piche.

Security footage showed the incident as it unfolded: two vehicles arriving on scene, followed by a motorcycle shortly after; the husband approaching Piche's vehicle and speaking with him; the wife driving away from the area and the husband returning to his motorcycle.

When the man rides off, he is followed by Piche, who is observed in security footage striking the back of the motorcycle, the statement said. The man ended up on the ground, but got back to his feet while the pickup was backing up.

Piche then accelerated forward, turning toward the man, striking him and throwing him into the ditch, according to the statement.

Piche sped off and could not be located, the statement said. Due to law enforcement's concern that Piche might assault someone else, possibly causing great bodily harm or death, a GPS location ping was conducted on his cell phone.

His vehicle was located in Crookston, traveling south on U.S. Highway 2, approximately three hours after the crash was first reported. A total of four law enforcement officers boxed Piche's vehicle in, conducting a felony stop to prevent him from fleeing or committing another assault, the statement said.

Piche was ordered out of the vehicle and taken into custody.

Prior to any questioning, he "yelled out something about hitting a deer near the casino" and said there was fur stuck to his vehicle, the statement said. Law enforcement observed damage to the front end of the pickup, but no fur.

The man who had been struck twice by the pickup was interviewed at the hospital the following day.

He said that when he spoke with Piche — who he had never seen or met prior to the incident — he said to leave his wife alone or he was going to get mad and do things he didn't want to do, the statement said.

Piche answered that he wasn't trying to do anything, the statement said.

After being hit by Piche's vehicle, the man's wife found him lying on the ground. She had driven off but circled back to the scene.

He told police he'd suffered a fractured arm and severely bruised ribs.

A pre-sentence investigation has been ordered in Piche's case. Sentencing is scheduled for 12 p.m. Sept. 17.