TUPPER LAKE (AP) -- A 10th Mountain Division soldier based at Fort Drum has been cleared of felony assault charges stemming from the stabbing of two women during an alcohol-fueled brawl outside an Adirondack bar last Memorial Day.

The Press-Republican of Plattsburgh reports a Franklin County grand jury returned the findings Monday in the case against 30-year-old Sgt. Jason Jauron. The newspaper reports the panel found the 30-year-old combat veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan was justified in using deadly force when he fought several intoxicated people in the village of Tupper Lake around 2:30 a.m. May 30. 

Police say Jauron was on the ground being punched and kicked when he used a knife to stab the women.

Three men were charged with trying to tip over the police car Jauron was held in.

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