Vet Hit By Vise Calls For Thrower To 'Be A Man'
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- The Bloomington man accused of throwing a vise out his car window pleaded guilty to first-degree assault. The vise crashed into the windshield of an Iraq War veteran, seriously injuring him.
Gerret Parks entered the plea on Tuesday. In court, Parks admitted he was drinking heavily and remembers very little of what happened.
Jonathan Stacke does not have the face of a man who's known great pain.
"A lot of people that don't know me and find out that I got hit, they can't even tell I got hit," he said.
But focus on his jaw and mouth, and you'll soon learn Stacke suffered an injury unlike any other.
"I just knew there was something wrong, because...there were teeth where they should not be," he said.
It was back in February when Stacke was driving down Normandale Boulevard in Bloomington. As he passed Gerret Park's vehicle, the then 39-year-old threw a vise sending it straight towards Stacke's windshield.
The vise hit Stacke in the mouth, splitting his lower lip, knocking out several teeth and crushing his jaw.
While Stacke has come a long way in seven months of recovery, he's about to undergo another round of surgery. In this case, healing will take another eight months.
"As soon as I start to feel better, with my teeth and able to eat, I'll have to go through another surgery, drink through a straw again, take time from work and friends and family," he said.
But the day before his operation, he'll get a chance to heal in a different way.
Parks will face his sentencing for first-degree assault.
"Just to say sorry...own up to what you did. Be a man about it, and that's cool," Stacke said.
Parks will be sentenced next Tuesday. He's expected to receive more than six years in prison and pay restitution. Parks is accused of throwing several other objects out his window in December, January and February, but those charges were dropped.
