Dalton Man Sentenced for Holding Woman at Gunpoint in December Incident

Deputies entered a Dalton residence on December 2, 2024, and took Ryan James Hamilton, 43, into custody at gunpoint after Otter Tail County Dispatch received a text message around 7:21 p.m. reporting that a man was holding a woman against her will at gunpoint inside the home.

Hamilton was sentenced to 58 days at the Otter Tail County Detention Center on March 16 in Otter Tail County District Court, for the 2024 incident. The sentence included work release, approved by the court. Hamilton was remanded into custody following the sentencing hearing.

The Otter Tail County Sheriff's Office received text messages reporting that a man with a gun was holding a woman against her will in Dalton. Deputies and other law enforcement responded and entered the residence, where they confronted Hamilton. The woman was not injured in the incident.

Hamilton was held at the Otter Tail County Jail on a felony second-degree assault charge and a gross misdemeanor charge of domestic assault involving a firearm, according to an Otter Tail County Sheriff's Office press release.

The case moved through Otter Tail County District Court over roughly three and a half months before the March 16 sentencing concluded the matter. Hamilton's sentence allows him to participate in a work release program during his 58-day term at the county detention center.