TWO HARBORS, Minn. (FOX 9) - A Lake County jail guard was attacked and injured by an inmate who then tried to escape with her keys before he was subdued.
Samuel Osborne Stenberg, 21, of Beaver Bay, is facing multiple assault charges after authorities say he repeatedly punched and struck the guard with a taser, causing serious injuries.
Jail guard attacked, injured by inmate
The attack:
The criminal complaint says officers responded to Lake County Jail just before 1:50 p.m. on Oct. 3 after getting reports of a jailer "being assaulted very badly and was bleeding."
Investigators later viewed surveillance footage they say shows the jailer escorting Stenberg to the day room at about 1:43 p.m. for a phone visit when Stenberg "Bear hugged" the guard, according to the complaint. Stenberg then reportedly put the jailer in a headlock, took her to the ground and repeatedly punched her about 12 times.
The complaint states that during this struggle, Stenberg grabbed the jailer’s Taser and tried to use it on her, but it did not deploy. He then hit her in the head about nine times with the taser, took her keys and ran down the hallway to try to escape before coming back and attacking her again after she tried to stand up.
The response:
Two responding officers say they then spotted Stenberg "in the hallway with jail keys in his hand," and "blood on him" according to the complaint.
Stenberg reportedly refused orders to get on the ground and rushed at the officers. The complaint states both officers then fired their tasers before they were able to handcuff Stenberg, although he continued to kick and reach for one of the officer's duty belts.
Stenberg was then placed in a restraint chair after he began "yelling incoherently" and "started to bang his head on the wall," the complaint states.
The aftermath:
The complaint says the jailer had blood all over her, a badly bleeding cut on the back of her head and a cut on her left hand.
She was then taken to the hospital, where she was treated for a traumatic brain injury and multiple cuts that needed about 12 staples to close, according to the complaint.
The Source: This story uses information taken from a criminal complaint filed in Lake County.