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Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News) - A Rochester man now serving a prison sentence for injuring a man in an assault at a downtown Rochester bar in 2019 won't face additional punishment for leading police on a high-speed chase and spitting blood at a police officer while he free on bail and waiting for his trial in the assault case.

39-year-old James Lee Halverson was sentenced Friday for his conviction on felony counts of fleeing police and assault on a police officer. He was given a 19-month prison sentence, but he is being allowed to serve it concurrently with the nearly 6-year prison sentence he is currently serving for a second-degree assault conviction.

Halverson was free on bail in April of last year when the vehicle he was driving nearly crashed into a police squad car driven by an officer on patrol in southeast Rochester. That led to a chase that ended a few blocks away when Halverson crashed into a large dirt pile at a construction site near the Federal Medical Center. Halverson was injured and when he climbed out of the crashed vehicle he began yelling "corona" and then spit blood at an officer.

Minnesota Dept. of Corrections photo
Minnesota Dept. of Corrections photo
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In March of this year, Halverson was found guilty of second-degree assault and was given a 71-month prison sentence. The conviction stemmed from an attack on another man at the old Dooley's Pub in May 2019. Halverson struck the other man on the face with a beer bottle, which caused injuries that required surgical repairs.

Halverson has a lengthy criminal history that dates back to the early 2000s. It includes multiple felony convictions involving drugs, domestic violence, and a variety of other criminal offenses.

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