WILLMAR -- A rural Willmar man was arraigned Tuesday on felony charges for allegedly assaulting a woman Thursday night with a hammer, a can of aerosol spray believed to be mace and a stun gun.
Bryan Gordon Petersen, 43, faces felony charges in Kandiyohi County District Court for second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon and domestic assault by strangulation. He is also charged with a misdemeanor for domestic assault.
Unconditional bail was set at $75,000 by Judge Michael J. Thompson.
Conditional bail was allowed for $5,000 provided he have no contact with the woman or another man, that he be excluded from the family home until the woman has moved out, that he comply with orders for protection and possess no weapons. His next court appearance is Sept. 15.
According to the complaint, Kandiyohi County sheriff's deputies were dispatched around 10 p.m. Thursday to meet a woman who wanted to report a domestic assault in Svea. The woman also asked deputies to go to the home because there were children still there.
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The woman said Petersen asked her to help him with a project in a nearby garage and when she was helping, he sprayed her face with either spray paint or mace. She said he then took out an electrical shock device, possibly a Taser stun gun, and shocked her in the neck, chest and back. They then wrestled, she fell down and then he allegedly hit her in the head twice with a ball-peen hammer.
While she was attempting to crawl away, he tried to strangle her with a piece of rope and with his arm around her neck. The woman also said that Petersen took out another piece of rope and put it around his neck as though he was preparing to hang himself.
She managed to run away, get into her car and drive to a home in Willmar, where she called for law enforcement.
On Friday, personnel from the Sheriff's Office used cell phone information to search for Petersen, who was located near his vehicle and arrested. Officers found a loaded .38-caliber handgun on his person and a canister of mace in his vehicle.
During an interview, he admitted that he and the woman had words and that he held onto her keep her from leaving. He also allegedly admitted to owning a Taser, but said he didn't know where it currently was.
