A 20-year-old St. Paul man pleaded guilty in Freeborn County District Court last week to one count of second-degree assault for beating another man in the basement of an Albert Lea house in January 2009.

Freeborn County Attorney Craig Nelson said the plea, by Shane Joel Robinson-Schluter, came as he was preparing for Robinson-Schluter’s jury trial last week.

He is expected to be sentenced at 2:30 p.m. Dec. 6 and faces a presumptive sentence of 27 months in prison, Nelson said.

Robinson-Schluter initially faced charges of second-degree assault, kidnapping, attempted aggravated robbery and removing or altering the serial numbers on a firearm; however, those charges were all dismissed after Nelson met with the victim during his trial preparation.

Nelson said based on his discussion with the victim, he filed a new single charge of second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon, a felony.

According to court documents, the victim had brought Robinson-Schluter and another man to Albert Lea from St. Paul on the day of the incident, Jan. 3, 2009.

When they arrived in Albert Lea, at a house at 629 Ruble Ave., Robinson-Schluter and the other man began to drink alcoholic beverages. The victim did not drink.

Reports state Robinson-Schluter began to ask the victim about money and that “for some reason” Robinson-Schluter began to hit him.

Robinson-Schluter demanded the man’s wallet, and hit him with “a smaller hard object held in his hand, about his head and shoulders,” reports state. The man had also been beaten and kicked while lying on the floor.

Reports state the victim attempted to block the blows with his hands and that he feared for his life.

“The defendant seemed to want to show off how brutal he could be and show that he could beat up a heavier older man,” court documents state.

The assault took place in the basement of the house.

Authorities were alerted to the incident after the victim walked into the Kwik Trip store on East Main Street and Garfield Avenue while bleeding profusely from the head.

Robinson-Schluter was arrested by members of the SWAT team at the Ruble Avenue residence. When arrested, he had blood on his right hand and pants.

Court documents filed with Robinson-Schluter’s previous charges allege Robinson-Schluter used a 9 mm pistol to beat the man.

According to police, the gun was found with blood on its end and sides. The magazine was removed from it and five live rounds were found inside.

When Robinson-Schluter was arrested, he was found with two 9 mm rounds in his left front pocket, and under the bed where he had been when police entered the house, police found the pistol.