A third person is in custody in connection with a November kidnapping and assault incident in Eveleth. Jerand Paul French, 38, of Eveleth turned himself in at the St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office in Virginia Monday morning. He has been booked on probable cause burglary, third-degree assault and kidnapping.
Two other men, Paul Anthony Debelak, 37, and Jacob Austin Holm, 29, are in the St. Louis County Jail in Duluth while they await formal charges. The Minnesota Department of Public Safety Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) released additional information about the incident on Friday, Dec. 8.
The incident began on or around Nov. 27 at a private residence on the city’s north end. A woman was sexually assaulted and beaten. A man was kidnapped and taken to 413 Grant Ave. in Eveleth, where he was held against his will and beaten for an extended period of time. The victims eventually escaped and fled the city. They reported the incident on Dec. 1 to the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA), which launched an investigation.
The victims are in stable condition. Additional information about the victims is being withheld at this time under Minnesota Statute 13.82, subdivision 17.
BCA agents and crime scene personnel, along with St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office and Eveleth and Gilbert police department investigators, are conducting interviews and executing multiple search warrants in and around Eveleth today.
This is an active and ongoing investigation. The BCA is conducting the investigation along with the St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office and the Hibbing, Eveleth and Gilbert police departments.
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