GREAT FALLS — Jake Kraus remains hospitalized in Great Falls after a brutal and senseless assault by several people on Sept. 8, 2024.
Jake, 37, was headed home after a night out at the Newberry when the unthinkable happened.
“He ended up getting jumped and beat up and injured pretty bad," Jake's father Mark Kraus explained.
According to the Great Falls Police Department, surveillance video from businesses in the area showed three people attacking Jake.
Two of the suspects were seen stomping on his head; one of the suspects rummaged through Jake's pockets.
The suspects, all under the age of 20, were soon arrested, and are now facing felony charges of aggravated assault (see below).
At this point, there is no word on the suspected motive for the attack.
Jake is facing a long road to recovery; his family worries he may have sustained brain damage.
According to his wife, Jake is still in the ICU with a brain hemorrhage resulting in a traumatic brain injury: "He has limb function but it’s undetermined the level of cognitive function he will have when he awakens."
“That’s when it really runs through my head, when I slow down enough, when I’m not here talking to the nurses and the doctors. The thing that gets me the most is the fact that I can’t do nothing about it except wait until he wakes up," Mark said.
He continued, “It’s just one step at a time – waiting for him to wake up. You just sit there and hope that he’s going to wake up sooner than later, you know?”
A GoFundMe has been created to help the family; click here if you would like to help.
* MTN does not name juvenile suspects unless they are being charged as an adult (link).
