WAUPACA, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – Tyler Knutson was sentenced Thursday to probation for four years for killing Bradley Trinwith in a road rage case.
Judge Vicki Clussman stayed a four-year prison sentence, which could be imposed if he violates the terms of probation. Knutson, 24, was also placed on extended supervision for another four years, and ordered to pay $11,995.34 in restitution. Knutson has already served more than a year in the county jail.
He previously had pleaded no contest to homicide by negligent handling of a dangerous weapon for the Jan. 25, 2020, incident in Iola. The maximum allowable sentence would have been a combined ten years of initial confinement and extended supervision.
Before the sentence was issued, Knutson apologized in a statement read by his attorney, Paul Polacek.
“I want to tell the family ‘I am sorry,’ and that I hurt for their loss, but I think they probably hate me. I am not good at speaking with people about feelings, and I never wanted to be in this situation. I will never be able to change what happened. No amount of time will ever heal the scars for everyone involved. We all have lost a piece of ourselves and never be able to get it back,” the statement said.
Judge Clussman said the force Knutson used was excessive, but given the circumstances -which included some initiation by Trinwith – said the maximum sentence requested by Trinwith’s family was not warranted.
“I believe it is more appropriate to give Mr. Knutson an imposed and stayed prison sentence. That way, Mr. Knutson will know that if he doesn’t follow the rules of probation, or gets involved with further criminal activity, that he will have a prison sentence hanging over his head,” the judge said.
The incident started outside the Thirsty Perch, after the car Knutson was in was nearly hit by the car that Trinwith was in. The drivers of both vehicles describe aggressive driving on the part of the other, including following too closely, blinking between high and low beam headlights, and the lead vehicle braking numerous times. One vehicle pulled into a driveway, where Knutson and Trinwith got into a fight — and Knutson stabbed Trinwith.
