WILLMAR -- A 23-year-old Willmar man was arraigned Monday in Kandiyohi County District Court on four felony charges for possessing a pistol or assault weapon within 10 years of a violent crime conviction.
Benjamin Allen Pierskalla also faces a gross misdemeanor for endangerment of a child by firearm access and a misdemeanor domestic assault charge for a Jan. 25 domestic incident. His next court appearance is Feb. 11.
Unconditional bail was set at $20,000. Conditional bail was allowed at $1,500 cash or bond. The conditions of release include that he have no contact with the alleged victim, that he be excluded from a Willmar residence and that he possess no firearms or dangerous weapons.
Pierskalla was originally arraigned on the gross misdemeanor and misdemeanor charges on Friday. The county attorney's office sought, and was granted, an extension to Monday, when the felony gun charges were added to the criminal complaint.
According to the complaint, officers found four long guns -- including a shotgun, 30-30 rifle, .223 rifle and a pellet gun -- in the apartment when they were called to a domestic assault.
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According to the court file, Pierskalla was sentenced in June 2001 as an adjudicated delinquent to an adult sentence for felony, second-degree assault. The sentence of 21 months was stayed and he was forbidden from owning firearms.
Pierskalla was acquitted by a jury in September of three charges, including felony domestic assault by strangulation, a gross misdemeanor for interfering with a 911 call and a misdemeanor domestic assault charge. Those charges stemmed from an April 27 incident in which he was accused of attempting to strangle the same woman at their Willmar apartment.
According to the complaint in this case, the woman called police around 9 p.m. Jan. 25, reporting that Pierskalla had beaten her up and then took off in a vehicle. Officers responded and saw a vehicle that matched the description in the parking lot but did not locate the suspect.
They interviewed the woman, who had blood on her shirt and hands, who said they had a verbal argument and that she attempted to leave the residence, but that he stopped her and said he was leaving. She said he returned to hit and kick her, along with attempting to cover her mouth with his hand, before he left when she said she was calling the police.
The woman told police she was frightened because his guns remained in the apartment.
Officers located the four firearms in a bedroom without locks or safety mechanisms. Two young children also live in the apartment.
