2 more guilty pleas in bar fight that led to gunfire in Geneva

Published 8:45 pm Wednesday, August 21, 2024

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Two more people pleaded guilty Wednesday in Freeborn County District Court to charges tied to the bar fight in April 2023 that ended in gunfire at Geneva Bar & Grill.

Mikayla Jean Olson, 24, and Desiree Nadine Klemp, 29, each pleaded guilty to an amended count of disorderly conduct-brawling or fighting as part of plea agreements.

Olson initially was charged with one count of third-degree riot and one count of fifth-degree assault, while Klemp was initially charged with one count of third-degree riot and two counts of fifth-degree assault tied to two different victims.

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The two women are the third and fourth people charged in the case to plead guilty.

Olson’s plea petition stated the joint agreement called for a stayed jail sentence of 60 days, no additional jail time, one year of probation and conditions of staying out of bars/liquor stores and staying away from the Geneva bar, among others. She is slated to be sentenced Oct. 23.

Klemp’s petition called for a one-year stayed sentence, being trespassed from the Geneva bar and other conditions. Her sentencing is slated for Oct. 30.

Video obtained from the bar showed Klemp reportedly started the fight when she threw a large drink and cup in the face of several people standing by the bar after a song she paid for was skipped on the jukebox.

Klemp stated in her plea petition that “general melee” ensued after a general dispute began and that she was taken to the ground by someone and reacted poorly and started swinging at that person.

Olson was seen on video throwing a drink at someone who others were assaulting.

The fight ultimately moved outside, where Dustin Smitty reportedly fired shots in the air in the parking lot and then fired at a vehicle leaving.

Authorities found four 9 mm Luger Hornady shell casings in the grass at the northeast corner of the intersection of Central Avenue and First Street Northeast, where Smitty fired from. The same casings were found in the bar parking lot.

Smitty pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree assault, one for each of the two people inside the vehicle that were shot at and was sentenced in December to three years and three months in prison.

Robert James Smitty pleaded guilty to fifth-degree assault and was sentenced in January to one year of supervised probation. The remaining person charged, Sandra Harris, has pleaded not guilty to one count of third-degree riot and is slated for a jury trial.