State v. Matzke

Travis Matzke got mad at his aunt, in her home, and called her a “f*eking bitch.” She asked Matzke to leave. “F*ck you, bitch,” he replied.

Matzke’s uncle took issue and backed Matzke out of the house. Outside, Matzke clubbed and broke his uncle’s arm with “something like” a handle of an axe or a shovel. The uncle grabbed a splitting maul and chased Matzke, who ran to a waiting car and sped away.1

Matzke was arrested and tried, as a persistent offender, on felonies of assault and armed criminal action (ACA).2 He *75claimed self-defense. To support that theory at trial, the defense offered a photo…