After an alleged fight over a DVD or CD, one man lay unresponsive at St. Marys hospital and another has been charged with attempted murder.

Mower County prosecutors charged Galuak Michael Rotgai, 28, of Mapleview, Tuesday with two felonies — second-degree attempted murder and first-degree assault causing great bodily harm — after he allegedly struck another man in the head two or three times with a baseball bat, including at least once while he was on the ground.

If convicted, Rotgai could face a maximum of 20 years in prison and a $30,000 fine.

According to the court complaint, a witness in the apartment called 911 and reported that a 39-year-old Sudanese man had been struck in the head after arguing with another man. When a deputy arrived, the victim was lying on the floor, not breathing or blinking and surrounded by bodily fluids, according to the complaint. The deputy saw three men standing in the kitchen, one of whom was Rotgai. The complaint then states that Rotgai told the deputy a man in a white shirt was the assailant and fled the scene; however, one of the witnesses told the deputy, “He’s right here,” and pointed at Rotgai.

The deputy arrested Rotgai and took him to a squad car while two other officers gave the victim CPR and detected a heartbeat after four minutes of resuscitation.

Detectives then interviewed the witnesses and Rotgai. One witness was allegedly in a bedroom, heard a loud argument and a “thud,” according to the complaint. It also says that when that witness came out, Rotgai was standing over the motionless victim and struck him two more times on the back of the head. The witness then said he took the bat from Rotgai and called 911, according to the complaint. Deputies later found the bat in the witness’s bedroom, but the witness said he didn’t know how it got there, according to the complaint.

 

Another witness was allegedly drinking with Rotgai when the victim entered the apartment and asked for a DVD or CD, when Rotgai grabbed the bat and struck the victim and once more while he lay on the floor, according to the complaint. The witness also said the victim didn’t have a weapon on him and was not acting aggressively before the attack.

Rotgai claimed he was sleeping on his mattress in the living room and was awaken by commotion and saw the victim fall, hit his head on the kitchen table and then the floor, the complaint states. Rotgai also said he has never met the victim, did not own a bat and said the other men in the room claimed the victim was there to kill people, the complaint states. After that, Rotgai allegedly changed his story and said he knew the victim and was afraid of him. Rotgai added the victim came over to get a DVD or CD and threatened to kill him, according to the complaint. Rotgai then admitted to grabbing the bat and hitting the victim while the victim kicked back. According to the compliant, Rotgai allegedly admitted to hitting the victim once more after the victim fell.

According to Mower County Sheriff Terese Amazi, the victim was still unresponsive as of Tuesday afternoon.

Rotgai is held in the Mower County jail on $500,000 bail.