A Minnesota man is accused of forcing an Ellsworth woman into a car with her infant after a domestic incident and trying to flee police on foot when pulled over in River Falls.

Samuel Howard Wannebo, 27, St. Paul, pleaded not guilty and was ordered to pay $2,000 cash bond Nov. 10 in Pierce County Circuit Court on violate foreign protection order (repeater), disorderly conduct (domestic abuse, repeater) and disorderly conduct (repeater) charges. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of nine months in jail and/or fines up to $1,000.

According to the complaint:

At 10:16 p.m. Nov. 7, Ellsworth police were dispatched to a domestic abuse incident at a home in the 300 block of West Main Street in Ellsworth. The third party caller said Wannebo had forced a woman into a vehicle with their infant child against her will and was beating her, pulling her hair and essentially kidnapped her. She also said Wannebo was intoxicated and possibly armed with a weapon. The victim had called the complainant screaming for help.

Ellsworth police notified neighboring agencies of the vehicle description and its occupants. The caller was distraught and afraid for the victim’s and child’s lives. She said she believed Wannebo would run from and possibly fight law enforcement if they tried to arrest him. Dispatch also informed officers of an active protection order issued July 9, 2024 in Minnesota prohibiting contact between Wannebo and the woman. While speaking with the complainant, they saw drops of blood throughout the residence and a white towel that looked like it had been used to clean a wound.

River Falls police located the vehicle as it came into their city around 10:26 p.m. near Highway 65 and Cemetery Road. Wannebo has an extensive criminal history in Minnesota, including charges for fleeing police by means other than motor vehicle, arson, second degree strangulation, fifth degree assault, domestic assault, brawling or fighting and numerous drug charges.

When police saw the vehicle heading north on Highway 65, they followed it and decided to conduct a felony traffic stop on Highway 35 between Main Street and Radio Road. When the vehicle pulled over, Wannebo jumped out of the passenger door of the van and took off on foot toward the northeast. Police chased him and caught up to him near a fenced-in area near Arrow Building Center (495 Arrow Court). Wannebo tried to jump and climb the fence, but officers tackled him and handcuffed him. Police also detained the woman and moved the infant inside a squad car for safety. A St. Croix County K-9 arrived to sniff the vehicle and alerted on a glass drug pipe that tested positive for THC.

Officers took Wannebo to River Falls Area Hospital for an evaluation prior to booking at Pierce County Jail due to a wound on top of his head. At the hospital, he told police he always runs from the “5-0” and will not stop violating the restraining order.

Through interviews with Wannebo, the victim and the complainant, police learned Wannebo had shown up at an Ellsworth residence and gotten into a physical fight with the mother of his child. He forced the mother and child to leave with him and made the woman drive. Police later learned that the complainant’s father had protected the victim from Wannebo, which is how he got the gash on the top of his head. The dad, identified as Niko Vinnie Gambino, 61, was arrested Nov. 7 for a U.S. Marshals Service felony warrant for escape.

At the jail, Wannebo shouted sand swore at jail staff, threw the jail phone, a pen and paperwork and became upset when told a no-contact 72-hour hold had been enforced. He was disorderly throughout the booking process.

Wannebo was scheduled to appear in Pierce County Circuit Court at 10:15 a.m. Dec. 2 for a status conference.