Plea ends case involving man thrown from balcony

EAU CLAIRE — An Altoona man who seriously injured another person when he threw him off a balcony has been sentenced.

James Jackson, 46, was originally charged with first degree reckless injury, a Class D felony. He pleaded guilty to a charge of second degree reckless injury during a hearing Monday.

Jackson will spend 210 days in jail. Work release privileges are determined by the jail. He was given 121 days’ credit for time already served.

According to the criminal complaint, Jackson was one of several people who attended a child’s birthday party at a bowling alley and then returned to the apartment at which the incident occurred so the children could spend more time together. An officer began driving to the scene after a 911 hangup call because previous calls from the location involved domestic incidents.

Before arriving the communications center said a new call had reported a man fell from a balcony and had serious bleeding. The man told medical responders that he “said something and James said I was accusing him of being somebody he wasn’t.”

While several people were in the apartment at the time, few saw what happened. An adult woman said she was in another room and that the children came to get her after the man fell.

The victim, who sustained multiple injuries including fractured vertebrae and a significant cut to the head, was later interviewed at the hospital. He told investigators he had made remarks about the need for one of the children’s fathers to step up and be a better father. Jackson, who was apparently not the person to whom the victim referred, took exception.

Jackson initially threatened to stab the victim and left the room. He returned shortly thereafter and grabbed the victim by the shirt and pushed him off the balcony, which was a little more than 10 feet above an asphalt drive.

All of the adults interviewed said they had consumed alcohol, though the report does not indicate any were notably intoxicated. When contacted by investigators, Jackson pointed to the alcohol consumption and denied throwing the victim off the balcony. He said the victim fell over because he had been drinking.