Man Gets Year in Jail for Poking Bar Patron’s Eye

 ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) - A St. Paul man has been sentenced to a year in jail for poking a fellow bar patron in the eye and blinding him.

Thirty-four-year-old Kinseth Sorlien also was sentenced Tuesday to 20 years probation. Reports say Sorlien must follow all terms of his probation or else he faces a prison sentence of more than 8  1/2 years.

According to the complaint, Sorlien took offense at another man who wished a happy holiday to Sorlien's mother early on New Year's Day, and poked the man in the eye.

A jury convicted Sorlien of first-degree assault.

Defense attorney Eric Nelson says the judge determined that Sorlien was a good candidate for probation and would have a better opportunity to pay restitution than if he were imprisoned.