Convict allegedly throws 45-pound statue on victim
Published 10:51 am Wednesday, May 1, 2013
A suspect convicted of numerous assaults and for stabbing a woman 15 years ago has been charged for attacking two people and throwing a 45-pound statue on one of them.
Troy Lester Benner, 39, of Austin, was charged Tuesday in Mower County Court with second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon, domestic assault by strangulation and two counts of fifth-degree domestic assault.
Austin Police went to the 1000 block of 12th Avenue SW at 8:51 p.m. Saturday for a hit and run. When they arrived, they spoke with a woman and man who described the alleged assault. The woman said Benner had been drinking, and she reportedly tried to take his keys to prevent him from driving. According to the court complaint, Benner got upset and shoved the woman and threw the man to the ground when he tried to intervene. The victims say Benner then spit food at them and struck the man and tried to strangle him. The woman said she was unable to intervene when Benner grabbed a 45-pound statue and threw it toward the ground.
The male victim said the statue struck him in the chest, according to the court complaint.
Benner then ran from the house, slammed the door and broke the latch and glass, the victims said.
Benner is held in the Mower County jail on $150,000 bail. His next court appearance is set for May 10.
According to court documents, he has had a history of alcohol abuse and psychological complications. He was sentenced to prison time in 1998 for stabbing a woman several times, for which he was convicted of third-degree attempted murder. Benner was also convicted of terroristic threats in 2010, violating terms as a predatory offender in 2009 and domestic assault in 2008, among other convictions.