Stillwater man gets 36 years for holding hostages in Woodbury motel

A gunman who held 11 people hostage in a Woodbury motel room last year received the maximum sentence of 36 years from a Washington County judge Monday.

The Associated Press reports Demetrius Ballinger, 26, had pleaded guilty to attempted murder and to sexually assaulting four teenage girls during the standoff.

After a SWAT team had surrounded the Red Roof Inn one of the hostages, Mark Henderson, Jr., tried to escape and was shot by Ballinger and by police.

The Pioneer Press reports victim impact statements from the parents of Henderson and of the girls Ballinger assaulted were read in court, after which Ballinger asked Judge Ellen Maas to give him a life sentence. The newspaper reports Judge Maas said she couldn't do that, but she did make his sentences consecutive and said Ballinger will be on probation for the rest of his life.

The Star Tribune describes the incident on August 31, 2012, as a party that went sour when Ballinger pulled a gun and began assaulting the girls, who were 16 and 15. Washington County Attorney Pete Orput told the paper “Very seldom do we see a case where so many innocents are victimized in such a cruel manner.”