STILLWATER, Minn. – A man accused of holding 11 people hostage and sexually assaulting four teenage girls at gunpoint in a Minnesota motel room has been sentenced to 36 years in prison.
Demetrius Ballinger got the sentence prosecutors requested. The 26-year-old from Stillwater was initially charged with 27 felonies, but pleaded guilty to five felonies.
The complaint says Ballinger, five other adults and six juveniles were in a room at the Red Roof Inn in Woodbury in August 2012 when Ballinger pulled a gun, threatened to shoot everyone and ordered them to surrender money and cellphones.
After police arrived, 19-year-old hostage Mark Henderson tried to escape. Ballinger shot at him.
Officers heard the gunshot as the door opened and fired, striking Henderson whom they believed was armed. The unarmed Henderson later died.
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