One of the two men who was accused of holding a Brainerd man hostage in October and beating him with a hammer multiple times at an apartment on the 800 block of Juniper Street in Brainerd has been sentenced for the crime.
Elliot Joseph Mongan, 23, Pequot Lakes, was charged Oct. 3, 2014, with three felony counts of kidnapping to cause great bodily harm, second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon and making terroristic threats with reckless disregard risk and gross misdemeanor stalking with the intent to injure.
The other man, Cody Allen Benedict, 24, Brainerd, was charged with five felony counts of kidnapping to commit great bodily harm/terrorize, two counts of second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon, terroristic threats with reckless disregard risk and stalking.
Mongan entered into a plea agreement in December of 2014. He plead not guilty to the three felony counts and guilty to the stalking charge. Judge Richard Zimmerman dismissed the three felony charges on Jan. 26 and sentenced Mongan to one year in Crow Wing County Jail with 249 days stayed for two years for the gross misdemeanor stalking charge. He was given credit of 116 days for time already served. He also is on two years of supervised probation.
Benedict plead not guilty to all five felonies on Nov. 18, 2014. During a plea hearing Wednesday Benedict pleaded guilty to the stalking charge. He is scheduled to be sentenced April 30.
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The two men allegedly held a 20-year-old Brainerd man against his will Oct. 3, 2014, punching him repeatedly and striking him with a hammer multiple times. According to the criminal complaint filed against Benedict and Mongan and information provided by the Brainerd Police Department, a police officer was at the Holiday Gas Station about 3:30 a.m. Oct. 3 when he was approached by a male who said there was a male victim who was assaulted and was being held against his will at an apartment on the 800 block of Juniper Street in north Brainerd.
The individuals who lived in the apartment told Brainerd police that the victim reportedly had a "hit" on him and the two suspects, who entered the residence with several knives, threatened to kill him. The suspects also threatened to kill them if they told anyone, the criminal complaint said.
When officers entered the residence, they noticed Benedict holding a metal pole with knives fastened to the end of it. Officers located the 20-year-old Brainerd victim in the bathroom of the apartment and he was blindfolded. The victim was bound and gagged with his hands tied behind his back and he had multiple injuries from being assaulted, police said. The victim's hood of his sweatshirt was pulled over his head and he had earbuds stuck in his ears with very loud music coming from them, the court document said.
An officer cut the shoelace off of the victim's wrists and he observed obvious and deep ligature marks on them.
The victim reported he was invited to the apartment by the two individuals who live there. Benedict and Mongan and other people also ended up coming to the residence. The complaint said Benedict told the victim to go to the bathroom where he tied him up and assaulted him with a hammer, while Mongan punched him in the face during the same time frame.
The victim said Benedict wanted to kill him.
Brainerd investigators interviewed the individuals who lived in the apartment. The residents said they were in bed when Mongan, Benedict and the others arrived at the residence and they were told that if they said anything about them being there, that they would be killed, the court document said. They told investigators the people had knives and a wooden stick. They said the situation escalated and there was talk about killing the victim. The incident lasted about two to three hours.
Investigators also spoke with another witness, who said Benedict led him to the bathroom, where he observed the victim sitting on the toilet with a gag in his mouth and his hands tied behind his back. The witness said he wanted to leave the residence, but Benedict ordered him to stay. The witness said Benedict and Mongan took turns holding a knife to force him to stay in the apartment.
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During the search, police located a pole with two steak knives taped to it, several other knives, a wooden dowel and a hammer.
JENNIFER STOCKINGER may be reached at jennifer.stockinger@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5851. Follow on Twitter at www.twitter.com/jennewsgirl .
