After being startled by a mousetrap his brother set in an effort to play a prank, a Woodbury man allegedly began punching his sibling in the head and now faces a felony assault charge.

Matthew Joseph Nelson, 23, was the apparent victim of the Jan. 13 prank that sparked the altercation and left his brother needing four stitches to close a cut on his lip.

According to the criminal complaint:

Woodbury police were called to a home at the 2300 block of Cascade Plaza South on a report of a domestic assault between brothers.

They had been helping their mother set mousetraps.

Nelson’s mother and brother were teasing him about setting a mousetrap in his bed, and he later decided to leave.

When he went downstairs to his room to get his keys, he opened the door and a mousetrap went off, startling Nelson, who then threw a pillow at his brother.

A struggle ensued, with Nelson’s brother putting him in a bear hug in an effort to restrain him. Nelson allegedly punched his brother several times in the head.

His brother suffered a cut on his lip that required four stitches.

Nelson told police he was trying to defend himself.

He also faces a misdemeanor charge of inflicting bodily harm.

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