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Serving Northern St. Louis County, Minnesota

Ely man charged with kidnapping, assault

Keith Vandervort
Posted 10/31/18

ELY – An Ely man faces four felonies after he allegedly kidnapped, assaulted and threatened to kill a female acquaintance.

Ryan Richard Savolainen, 40, of 138 E White St., is in the St. Louis …

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Ely man charged with kidnapping, assault

Posted

ELY – An Ely man faces four felonies after he allegedly kidnapped, assaulted and threatened to kill a female acquaintance.

Ryan Richard Savolainen, 40, of 138 E White St., is in the St. Louis County Jail on a $100,000 bond following his arrest last week. He is charged with felony kidnapping, second-degree assault, making threats of violence and false imprisonment. He also faces two misdemeanor charges of domestic assault.

The charges stem from incidents reported to Ely police that occurred on or about Oct. 22-23.

According to the complaint, a woman reported that her ex-boyfriend, identified as Savolainen, had threatened her in an audio and video recording. The video was of the defendant sliding his fingers across his throat with audio that said, “You’re in trouble, you’re not going to know when it’s coming or where it’s coming, but it’s coming. Trouble is coming for you and I’m going to enjoy it.” The audio was identified as Savolainen’s voice, the complaint said.

The defendant allegedly met the woman near the Washington Elementary School because she said she agreed to only meet at a public place. The complaint said Savolainen entered her vehicle and told her to drive to his home or else “he would kill her and dump her body in the woods where no one would find it.” He allegedly took the woman’s keys and phone and once inside the home started beating her. She told police that he held a knife to her throat.

According to the report, Savolainen interrupted his attack when a male friend came to the home. The victim was told to go upstairs, where she kicked out a screen on a window and crawled on to the roof and begged the friend not to leave. Savolainen eventually left the home and the victim left the roof, went to a friend’s house and called police.

The report said officials observed a black eye and swelling around the temple area of the victim’s head, along with other evidence of a struggle. Two knives with hair on them were located at the upstairs window.

The victim previously had a protective order filed against Savolainen. The report said she dropped the order due to threats made by the defendant against her and her daughter.

The kidnapping charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison with lesser penalties for the threats and assault charges.