St. Cloud Man Sentenced for Fatally Punching Waconia Man

ST. CLOUD - A St. Cloud man has been sentenced to just over seven years in prison for fatally punching a man in August 2017.

Twenty-two-year-old Travis Johnson had pleaded guilty to 1st-degree manslaughter in September.

The criminal complaint says on August 5, 2017, at about 2:40 a.m. officers were called to the area of 9th Avenue South and 7th Street South for a report of an assault.

The victim, 22-year-old Anthony Shriver of Waconia, was struck in the face by another man which knocked him unconscious.

Witnesses gave officers a description of the suspect and police later found Johnson. Officers says Shriver had no recollection of the incident when they talked to him. He complained that his head hurt but he declined medical attention.

The complaint says a surveillance video shows that Shriver was struck from the side as he was walking away from Johnson.

At about 12:25 p.m. later that day officers were called to the 2200 block of 10th Avenue South, where Shriver was found unresponsive. He was pronounced dead at 1:10 p.m. An autopsy by the Ramsey County Medical Examiner's Office, which states Shriver died of "traumatic head injuries due to physical assault."

With good behavior, Johnson could only serve about five years in prison with the remainder of his sentence being served as probation.