Freeborn County District Court Judge Steve Schwab on Monday lowered bail for a Blaine man who is accused of stabbing a 25-year-old Albert Lea man earlier this month on Columbus Avenue near the Johnson Street railroad crossing.

Bail for Todd Raymond Paulson, 44, is now at $75,000 without conditions and $35,000 with conditions; previously, it was set at $150,000 and $75,000, respectively.

Schwab said a bail study suggested a lower bail.

During court Monday, Paulson agreed to the conditions of release — including no contact with the alleged victim, no dangerous weapons and no alcohol, among others — so if he is able to post bail, he will most likely choose that option.

Paulson is accused of stabbing 25-year-old Javier Torres on Aug. 8, while David Joshua-John Skotte and Marcus Allen-Wayne Hallmark, both 19, of Columbia Heights, allegedly held Torres down.

Torres was ultimately transported to St. Marys Hospital in Rochester because of internal bleeding from a wound to his abdomen.

Paulson faces one count of second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon and one count of third-degree assault causing substantial bodily harm.

Skotte and Hallmark each face one count of second-degree aiding and abetting assault with adangerous weapon and one count of third-degree aiding and abetting assault causing substantial bodily harm.

Skotte appeared on his own recognizance Monday for his routine hearing, during which his lawyer, Evan Larson, requested a default omnibus hearing for his client.

This hearing is tentatively scheduled for 1 p.m. Oct. 4.

Hallmark also appeared in custody with his public defender, Kevin Riha, who requested that his client’s bail also be lowered. No ruling was made on this request. Hallmark remains in the Freeborn County jail on a bail of $40,000 with conditions and $80,000 without conditions.

He is next scheduled to appear at a contested omnibus hearing, the date of which has not yet been set.

All three men have had several warrants issued in the past, along with other prior criminal acts in their history.

Court records state second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon, along with the second-degree aiding and abetting assault with a dangerous weapon, carry a maximum penalty of seven years in prison and a $14,000 fine. The third-degree assault while causing substantial harm charge, along with the aiding and abetting in the third-degree charge carry a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.