Man sentenced to over 14 years in prison for assault in Brooklyn Park

A man was sentenced to over 14 years in prison for reportedly attacking a man with a baseball bat, putting him in critical condition.

Mario Ricardo Riera-Arias, 33, was sentenced to 172 months (14 years and 4 months) in prison after being convicted of first-degree assault in Hennepin County Court. Riera-Arias will get credit for 429 days served.

Another count of attempted first-degree premeditated murder was dismissed at his sentencing.

Riera-Arias was arrested over a year ago following a Dec. 9, 2023 assault in Brooklyn Park.

According to charging documents, Riera-Arias attacked a man at the 7900 block of Girard Court North around 2:59 a.m.

A video that captured the incident reportedly showed Riera-Arias run across the yard while holding a baseball bat and hit the man in the head before continuing to strike the man 45 times with the weapon, according to court documents.

Police said the attack only stopped after the victim’s mom and her boyfriend heard “what sounded like metal being hit against something” and found Riera-Arias in the front yard attacking the man.

Riera-Arias then left the area upon being spotted, driving away in his car, according to court documents.

Police said he was later identified by the victim’s girlfriend, who had been Riera-Arias’ wife but had separated months prior and was in the process of obtaining a divorce.

Court documents said she was able to verify Riera-Arias’ car seen in the video and identified him as the attacker when shown still photos of the attack.

He was later found by police and arrested.