Charges: Burglar assaulted man with sticks before stealing pickup

A Fairmont man is accused of burglarizing a home where he allegedly assaulted a man and stole his vehicle.

Benjamin John Rosa, 41, was charged in Blue Earth County Court with felony counts of 1st-degree aggravated robbery, 1st-degree burglary while assaulting a person on the property, 2nd-degree assault with a dangerous weapon, and theft.

A criminal complaint says Rosa broke into a home on Aug 22 and assaulted a male victim with two sticks.

Rosa allegedly took the victim’s key ring after the assault and left with the man’s pickup.

Deputies responded to the victim’s home just after 6 a.m., where they found him breathing heavily and moaning in pain, according to the complaint.  Police say the victim had fresh scrapes and bruises and complained of severe arm pain. Police say they found sticks and blood just outside the bathroom where the victim had encountered Rosa.

The victim was transported by ambulance to a hospital.

A witness at a nearby residence told police he had been looking for Rosa.  The witness told police he was concerned for Rosa’s well-being and feared Rosa was seriously ill or had been in an accident. Rosa had recently become paranoid, according to the witness.

Rosa’s pickup was located in a field about two hours after the initial call about the assault.

The complaint says the victim’s stolen pickup was found unoccupied at the bottom of a steep embankment the same morning, and Rosa’s scent was tracked along the Le Sueur River by K-9s.

Police discovered Rosa at a home later that afternoon, naked with scrapes and cuts on his body.  He was transported to a hospital, where he was cleared to be booked in the Blue Earth County Jail.

Rosa was released from jail Friday on $200,000 bond, then arrested for DWI early Monday morning in Faribault County.