Elusive Rochester Assault Suspect Finally Caught
Millville, MN (KROC-AM News) - A man wanted on felony arrest warrants issued by multiple counties was captured last night near Millville.
Wabasha County Sheriff Rodney Bartsch says deputies were investigating some daytime burglaries when they encountered 32-year-old Brent Espenson yesterday evening. He responded by running away and jumping into the nearby Zumbro River. The deputies pursued him as the fast-moving current carried Espenson downstream, but he was eventually apprehended in a wooded area near Millville after 10 p.m.
Sheriff Bartsch says Espenson was transported to the Goodhue County Jail in Red Wing, where authorities had previously issued an arrest warrant charging him with second-degree assault.
He recently made headlines in Rochester for his alleged involvement in a kidnapping and assault. Olmsted County prosecutors have charged Espenson with second- and third-degree assault for allegedly holding a man captive in a northwest Rochester mobile home and beating him with a padlock placed inside a sock. A second man charged in the case was arrested the day after the June 5th incident and is scheduled to stand trial in late October.
Espenson was nearly captured on two previous occasions in recent weeks. On June 11th, Espenson was spotted in a car near the Country Club Manor neighborhood and led an Olmsted County Sheriff’s Deputy on a high-speed chase at speeds close to 100 mph before he ditched the vehicle and managed to escape on foot.
It’s not yet known when he’ll be brought to Olmsted County to face prosecution. On top of the Goodhue County assault case, Espenson is also wanted on drug charges in Morrison County.
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