Man charged in fisherman's fatal stabbing in Wisconsin

Levi C. Acre-Kendall
Levi C. Acre-Kendall, 19, faces first-degree reckless homicide charges, according to the Polk County sheriff's office. The charges are in connection with the fatal stabbing of a fisherman on the St. Croix River earlier this week.
Courtesy Polk County Sheriff

Updated: 6:15 p.m. | Posted: 1:40 p.m.

An argument between fishermen on the St. Croix River led to homicide charges against a Cambridge, Minn. teen Friday. But exactly what happened that night and why 34-year-old Peter Kelly of Wisconsin was stabbed to death is still a question.

Polk County prosecutors charged Levi Conner Acre-Kendall, 19, with first-degree reckless homicide. He remains in custody on $125,000 bond.

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Investigators heard two conflicting reports about the encounter.

According to the criminal complaint:

Kelly was fishing with Ross Lechman Tuesday at Minnesota Interstate Park when they engaged in a verbal dispute with three others.

The others, including Acre-Kendall, were fishing at Wisconsin Interstate Park.

Lechman told investigators he and Kelly drove over to the Wisconsin side and approached Acre-Kendall and his friends, where Acre-Kendall and Kelly then engaged in a "verbal argument" by a small car that later fled the scene.

Lechman said he saw Acre-Kendall pull out a "shiny object" and that Kelly referred to it as a knife.

At some point, Lechman said he was watching the other two men on the other side of the car when he heard Kelly say "he stabbed me."

Lechman said he heard Acre-Kendall admit to stabbing Kelly, according to the complaint.

But two others, a 17- and a 19-year-old, identified in the complaint by their initials, told investigators that Kelly and Lechman approached them on foot and that Kelly attempted to pull Acre-Kendall out of the car as they were trying to leave. "While doing so, the defendant stabbed Kelly," according to the criminal complaint.

A dispute this serious is rare, Polk County Sheriff Peter Johnson said.

"I've heard several times before of verbal spats on the river from one side to the other," he said, "but never anything that ended in a homicide."

Prosecutors will determine if anyone else involved in the incident will face charges once the investigation is complete.