Former Twin Cities sports-radio personality Jeff Dubay, who has previously run afoul of the law for methamphetamine possession, has pleaded guilty to third-degree assault.
Dubay entered his guilty plea on Monday in front of Washington County District Judge William Ekstrom. He will be sentenced March 22 and could face up to four months in jail.
Dubay, 49, was arrested in August and charged with a felony after he allegedly assaulted a woman in the basement of a Cottage Grove house. Dubay previously denied any wrongdoing.
According to the criminal complaint filed in Washington County District Court, officers were called Aug. 2 to a house in the 8000 block of Jensen Avenue South on a report of a physical domestic assault.
As officers approached the house, a woman in a car flagged them down and said a woman in the basement was being assaulted and needed help.
“At that point, the woman who had been assaulted came walking out of the house visibly injured with blood dripping out of her mouth and a large bump around her eye,” the complaint states. “She had a tooth missing.”
According to the complaint, the injured woman told officers that Dubay lives in the basement of the house and that she and Dubay “have had sexual relations in the past, and it made her upset when he brought women to the house.”
Dubay allegedly had another woman in his bedroom, and the woman asked him to ask the other woman to leave, according to the complaint. Dubay “became angry and shoved (her) to the floor,” the complaint states. “While lying on the floor, the defendant reached over and punched her several times in the face with closed fists.”
Dubay was arrested and taken to the Washington County jail in Stillwater. He was released a week later after posting $30,000 bond.
In a phone interview on Wednesday afternoon, Dubay disputed the victim’s account.
He said that he planned to plead not guilty to third-degree assault when he showed up in court last month.
“But I never was given that chance,” he said. “I was told that if I pleaded not guilty, then my charge would be changed to first-degree assault, and I’d have to go to a jury trial with a potential for a seven- to eight-year prison term. I was not willing to risk seven to eight years of my life and put it in the unpredictable hands of a jury. Anything could happen then.”
In a Facebook post on Tuesday night, Dubay wrote that he was defending himself from an attack when the assault occurred.
“While the entire incident was horribly regrettable, the fact remains I was unexpectedly attacked and used only necessary force to extract myself from a very vulnerable position,” he wrote. “Once the alleged victim released me I walked away, pursuing no further action. All this took place after I went to great lengths to avoid a confrontation of any kind.
“I live with considerable regret that it ever came to that point, but I know that I was attacked that day and meant no harm to anybody,” he wrote. “Anyone who knows me also knows the idea of me attacking a woman violently is ludicrous.”
Assistant County Attorney Siv Yurichuk said she will be requesting that Dubay serve 120 days in jail. “That’s the cap of the jail time that I’ll be asking for, (but) the defense can request less,” she said.
Dubay was released on condition that he not use any alcohol or controlled substances, he has to be tested, he must be in treatment within 30 days and have no contact with the woman, Yurichuk said.
Dubay said he had already made plans to undergo treatment for drug addiction at Minnesota Adult and Teen Challenge in Minneapolis.
“I chose to do it of my own free will,” he said. “I started making arrangements weeks ago. I’ve had many periods of sobriety, but inevitably there has always been a relapse. My life has been ‘two steps forward, one step back’ over the last 10 years, and I’m tired of it.”
Dubay’s criminal record includes felony drug convictions in 2016 and 2009.
Dubay was a popular host on KFAN radio and later 1500 ESPN. His employment at 1500 ESPN was terminated in 2014. More recently, he has run a sports-themed podcast called the “Jeff Dubay Show.”