FLORENCE, Wis. – A Kingsford man on trial for felony battery said Monday the man he seriously injured outside an Aurora, Wis., bar in November first threatened and attacked him.

Joseph James Supa, 34, testified he punched Michael Mortl once in the face after Mortl threatened to kill him and began hitting him in the face and head in the parking lot of the C&R Bar.

“As soon as I opened the door he said, quote unquote, ‘I’m going to kill you and throw you in the river like the last guy,'” Supa said in Florence County Court. “He seemed to be very angry and I didn’t understand why.”

He claimed Mortl pursued him across the parking lot while hitting him in the head before he turned and punched the man.

“I just swung as hard as I could. I was trying to defend myself and I was hoping that would stop him,” Supa said.

Mortl immediately fell, striking his head on the ground and knocking him unconscious, Supa stated. His breathing changed to a “snoring” sound, he said.

Mortl, who suffered a serious head injury, said in court he “barely remembers any of that.”

Mortl said he recalls going to the C&R with then-girlfriend Rebecca Peterson and “meeting a guy” but was unable to describe him.

Peterson said Supa joined her, Mortl and a third friend for a few games of pool, and he was “friendly” and did not appear to be intoxicated.

Peterson said she was the designated driver that night and gave her intoxicated friend a ride home, planning to return for Mortl.

“Mike said, ‘I need to talk to Joe and I can’t leave yet,'” she testified.

Peterson said she heard Mortl and Supa yelling outside the bar as she left and assumed they were arguing about the attention Supa paid to the women as they played pool.

Florence County District Attorney Douglas Drexler contended Supa had “a romantic interest” in Peterson’s friend and only began talking about self defense after the incident.

Peterson said Supa called her from Mortl’s cellphone and claimed to have knocked the other man out with one punch after an argument. She said she heard a “banging” or “pounding” sound over the phone but could not identify it.

Supa denied flirting with the women and said he never mentioned an argument to Peterson.

“I told her that man threatened my life and attacked me,” he said. “I never said anything about arguing.”

Defense attorney Henry McRoberts noted Peterson never mentioned hearing an argument in police statements and only made the comment “seven months after this occurred, on the day of trial.”

Peterson called a cab to return to the bar, saying in court she was afraid to go back by herself without knowing what had happened.

Peterson and the cab driver, Patrick Green, both testified to finding Supa standing over Mortl, who was bloodied and unconscious.

“He looked terrible. His head was swollen and he was bleeding really bad.” she said. “There was definitely something wrong with the back of his head.”

Green said Supa dropped Mortl at least twice as he attempted to lift him by the underarms in order to get him into the cab. Green saw Mortl was bleeding and called 911.

Supa said he did not think Mortl’s injuries were severe enough to warrant medical attention at the time, and denied statements by Green and Peterson that he was aware Green had contacted authorities.

Supa left the bar property on foot before EMS personnel and law enforcement arrived, taking Mortl’s cellphone with him.

He said he did so unintentionally and could not remember what happened to the phone, which was found the next day in the yard of a Breitung Township home.

Peterson said Supa called her from Mortl’s phone “two or three times” as she and Green waited for an ambulance.

Peterson testified Supa told her “not to tell” about the incident before leaving the site. Supa denied this, saying he even gave Peterson his contact information.

A doctor at Dickinson County Memorial Hospital determined Mortl had a severe brain bleed, along with bruising and swelling to the back of his head and neck.

He was flown to Aurora Baycare Medical Center in Green Bay, Wis., for treatment and put into a medically induced coma. He also spent time at a neurological treatment center in Juneau, Wis.

Florence County Sheriff’s Department deputies photographed Supa with a black eye and marks on his face the day after the incident.

Supa termed “ludicrous” Drexler’s argument he injured himself to support his self-defense claim.

The two-day bench trial before Judge Leon D. Stenz concludes today with testimony from the final defense witness, who McRoberts said will show the injuries Mortl suffered could be inflicted with a single punch.

Supa pleaded not guilty to felony substantial battery-intend bodily harm and misdemeanor counts of theft of movable property-less than $2,500 and disorderly conduct.

If convicted on the felony, Supa could face up to 3 1/2 years in prison.

Evan Reid’s email address is ereid@ironmountaindailynews.com.