MANKATO, Minn. (AP) — A judge likely will allow the attorney for former Minnesota Gophers quarterback Philip Nelson to have access to brain scans of the former football player Nelson is accused of assaulting, after the prosecutor and a lawyer for the victim indicated no opposition to the request Monday.
Nelson, 20, is charged with first-degree assault after a confrontation with former Minnesota State, Mankato, football player Isaac Kolstad in downtown Mankato on May 11. Nelson is accused of kicking Kolstad, 24, after Kolstad was punched during an altercation.
Nelson’s attorney, Jim Fleming, wants 11 CT scans that were taken between May 11 and May 20. Fleming said he needs the medical records to prepare Nelson’s defense.
Fleming provided a proposed motion that, if approved by Judge Bradley Walker, would allow him to get the images directly from the hospital.
Assistant Blue Earth County Attorney Pat McDermott said he is not opposed to the proposal but wanted more time to review it, The Free Press (http://bit.ly/1o1lAkF ) reported.
Surveillance video showed Kolstad pushing Nelson before another man, 21-year-old Trevor Shelley, ran up and punched Kolstad, causing him to fall and hit his head on concrete, investigators reported. Shelley also has been charged with felony assault.
Kenneth White, an attorney representing Kolstad and his family, also said he didn’t oppose the proposed order, which also would allow Fleming to go directly to Walker in the future to have the order expanded to cover more medical records. White said his only concern is that the records being requested pertained directly to the Nelson and Shelley criminal cases and didn’t turn into a “fishing expedition.”
Kolstad is now undergoing rehabilitation.
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Information from: The Free Press, http://www.mankatofreepress.com
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