Two men have been charged with kidnapping and assault in the brutal beating of a 22-year-old Naytahwaush man Sunday.
The man, whose name has not yet been disclosed, has been released from the hospital and is now at a safe house in an undisclosed location, according to Becker County Sheriff Tim Gordon.
Jeremy James Potter, 36, of White Earth was arrested Thursday evening at a fast food restaurant in Minneapolis.
Authorities are still looking for Richard Eugene Stone, 32, of Minneapolis.
District Judge Peter Irvine issue arrest warrants for both men Wednesday.
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According to Gordon and court records:
The victim may have been enticed to Potter's home in White Earth by an offer to talk about a personal issue between them.
Once there, he was allegedly attacked by Potter and Stone, who bound his legs with duct tape and taped his hands behind his back, then beat him using a variety of objects, including clubs, bottles and possibly a pool cue and a gun.
He lost consciousness for a time during the attack, and suffered a broken nose and required multiple stitches and staples to secure wounds to his head and face.
An anonymous tip alerted White Earth tribal police officers that an assault was occurring in the basement of the house, but the victim and suspects were gone when police arrived.
The suspects had apparently been alerted by listening to a police scanner, and put the victim into the back of a Ford Explorer, then took off. Stone threatened to kill the victim before they left the residence.
A deputy found the Explorer overturned on County Road 133, sometimes called "Government Road," which has steep embankments and runs through a wooded, swampy area, Gordon said.
At the crash site, the deputy heard a man in the back of the Explorer and found the victim, still bound with duct tape. He had obviously been beaten, and suffered "severe and multiple head wounds and body wounds," from the assault, Gordon said.
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He was transported by ambulance to St. Mary's Innovis Health Center. He was under protective guard there until he was released late Wednesday and authorities took him to a safe house.
"This was a brutal, brutal crime," Gordon said, probably one of top 10 worst he's seen in his law enforcement career.
He thanked the public for providing information, and credited the Minneapolis Police Department and Bureau of Criminal Affairs with acting quickly to arrest Potter.
"They put it on the hotplate and hunted him down for us," he said.
Both men have extensive criminal records.
Potter has more than a dozen convictions for offenses including domestic assault, DWI and carrying a pistol without a permit.
Stone has more than a dozen convictions for offenses including motor vehicle theft, domestic assault and aggravated robbery.
Potter is expected to be arraigned in Becker County District Court Monday.
