Hibbing man gets prison term after chainsaw wrench attack, escape case pending

Michael Todd Hart, a 41-year-old Hibbing man, was sentenced Thursday to nearly four years in prison after a violent apartment attack that also exposed how his separate escape case still has not been resolved. The sentence closed one chapter in St. Louis County District Court, but Hart’s record now ties together a home invasion, a domestic-abuse no-contact order violation and a jail escape from a county-run facility near Saginaw.

Hart pleaded guilty to first-degree burglary of an occupied dwelling, misdemeanor fifth-degree assault and gross misdemeanor violation of a domestic abuse no-contact order. Court filings describe the victimization as deeply personal: one of the people attacked was Hart’s on-and-off girlfriend. The assault involved a chainsaw wrench at an apartment in Hibbing, and it ended only when another resident shot Hart in the abdomen. Hart later sought treatment at an Itasca County hospital.

The break-in and attack were reported around 5:30 a.m. on June 29, 2025, at an apartment on the 500 block of East 40th Street in Hibbing. For residents, the case is a stark reminder that violent domestic disputes can spill into public danger in seconds, forcing neighbors and bystanders into the middle of a life-threatening confrontation. The case also put pressure on local courts and law enforcement because Hart had multiple active matters moving through different jurisdictions.

Hart’s sentencing came while a separate escape case remained pending. He escaped from the Northeast Regional Corrections Center in Saginaw on Sept. 23, 2025, while being held on the Hibbing case. Authorities said staff did not realize he was missing for more than two hours during a routine count, and he was not arrested again until Oct. 7, when he was found hiding under a basement stairwell in Cohasset after a search warrant was carried out at a residence there.

That escape case is still moving through state district court in Duluth, and Hart has a plea hearing scheduled for June 22, 2026, with an appearance expected to be remote from prison. The Northeast Regional Corrections Center is a minimum-security facility operated by St. Louis County, and Hart’s path through the system has become a local example of how quickly custody lapses and repeat violence can converge on the same defendant.