MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – A 31-year-old Burnsville man was sentenced to 60 months in prison in Dakota County Court Friday for a September incident where he took two people hostage inside a gas station.
Ariel Luis Barnett had been charged with two counts of second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon, two counts of kidnapping to commit great bodily harm and one count of a firearm violation for a convicted felon. He pleaded guilty to the charges Dec. 20.
According to court documents, Barnett entered the Holiday gas station at Nicollet Avenue and Highway 13 in Burnsville with a sawed-off shotgun, and fired the gun into the ceiling of the store. He ordered his ex-girlfriend, a store employee, and another male employee to call police because he was taking them hostage, adding that both of their lives were in danger.
That night, police were able to talk Barnett into releasing the male employee and then to surrender. Barnett had been in a seven-year relationship with the female victim and had recently separated after he was in a Rice County prison for 53 days for an unrelated manner.
Barnett will get credit for 112 days served and will serve the sentences concurrently.
