Charges: Fridley man attacked ex’s new boyfriend, hit him over 40 times with metal bat

Emily Baude KSTP

A Fridley man has been charged with attempted murder and assault after allegedly beating his ex-wife’s boyfriend with a metal bat earlier this month.

Mario Ricardo Riera-Arias, 32, was charged with one count of first-degree attempted murder and one count of first-degree assault on Wednesday, according to court records.

Charging documents say officers from the Brooklyn Park Police Department were called to the scene of an assault on the 7900 block of Girard Court North just before 3 a.m. on Dec. 9.

At the scene, law enforcement found a man suffering from blunt force trauma all over his head and face, in addition to a large cut on his forehead. The complaint added that a substantial amount of blood was covering the victim and pooling around him.

The victim could not open his right eye or respond to questions from law enforcement, the complaint said.

An ambulance brought the victim to the hospital, where law enforcement was informed he had suffered several skull and face fractures and had to be put in a medically induced coma. Officials say the victim had also been hit in the groin and suffered serious injuries as a result.

The victim’s mother told law enforcement that the victim left to get food in Blaine at around 1:30 a.m. and returned around 3 a.m. The complaint states that the victim’s mother said she heard the victim pull up to the residence before hearing what sounded like metal hitting something a few minutes later.

The mother’s boyfriend then opened the garage door and saw a man, later identified as Riera-Arias, hitting the victim with a baseball bat, according to the complaint.

Riera-Arias then ran to his car and the mother’s boyfriend began chasing him with his vehicle, however he could not catch up to Riera-Arias. The mother and her boyfriend both recalled the make and model of Riera-Arias’ vehicle, which they say had been sitting outside their home for over an hour just a week prior.

Video footage from neighbor’s homes shows the victim parking his car and walking toward the front door before Riera-Arias is seen running up behind him and hitting him with a baseball bat at least 45 times, the complaint stated. Officials say each time Riera-Arias hit the victim, he lifted the baseball bat above his head and swung with “a lot of force.”

The complaint says Riera-Arias continued to strike the victim for over a minute before the mother’s boyfriend exited the garage and Riera-Arias ran.

While the victim was in the hospital, law enforcement was informed that a woman had called and identified herself as the victim’s girlfriend. According to the complaint, officers spoke with the girlfriend, who told them that she had been with the victim since May or June of this year after separating from Riera-Arias in April and was in the process of getting a divorce.

In the complaint, the girlfriend confirmed the make and model of the vehicle at the scene was the same as the car Riera-Arias drives. She also confirmed Riera-Arias’ identity with the surveillance footage.

The complaint added that another witness told law enforcement Riera-Arias had called him at 3 a.m., but he didn’t answer because he was asleep. The witness said Riera-Arias called him again at 4:20 a.m. and told him he had gotten into a fight and the other guy was in critical condition, according to the complaint.

The witness added that Riera-Arias always carries a green, metal bat in his vehicle.

Riera-Arias is currently in custody. He is due back in court on Dec. 14 at 1:30 p.m. for a hearing.

A GoFundMe for the victim has been set up and can be found HERE.