Three men face charges for damages, inciting riot at MSOP

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Three patients from the Minnesota Sex Offender Program (MSOP) in Moose Lake face felony charges for causing over $10,000 worth of damage to the facility.

Appearing in Carlton County Court on Wednesday were Sarprio B.B. Doranti, 50, and Lloyd Robert Desjarlais, 24. The third defendant, Christopher Anthony Eckman, 35, has been returned to the facility, where all three have been civilly committed. Each of the men faces charges of first-degree criminal damage to property and second-degree riot.

In an initial appearance on Wednesday, Doranti was represented by defense attorney Terri Port Wright. Port Wright informed Judge Robert Macaulay that Doranti, who is currently housed at the Carlton County Jail, was requesting to have bail eliminated so he can be transferred back to the MSOP in order to receive treatment for anti-social personality disorder. She said Doranti feels that, by being retained at the jail despite the fact that one of the other defendants has been returned to the MSOP, he is being punished based on his diagnosis, since he claims the MSOP doesn’t want him to return.

“Mr. Doranti believes this is an ongoing violation of his rights,” said Port Wright.

County Attorney Thom Pertler objected to dropping Doranti’s bail requirement, or any premature return to the MSOP facility, stating that Doranti is in jail for his behavior, not for his mental health issues. He argued that there is no justification for eliminating Doranti’s bail at this time and requested the $40,000 bail amount be continued by the judge for public safety reasons.

Judge Macaulay denied Doranti’s request, and as bailiffs began to escort Doranti out of the courtroom, he unleashed a series of shouted profanities, threatening that he was going to commit suicide while in jail and cursing at the judge. Judge Macaulay asked the bailiffs to return Doranti to the front of the courtroom, at which time he charged him with direct contempt of court and ruled that he serve 90 additional days in jail as a consequence.

On behalf of co-defendant Desjarlais, Port Wright requested a contested omnibus hearing based on challenges to probable cause. She also stated that Desjarlais has asked that his bail be eliminated so he can go back to treatment with his psychologist at the MSOP, saying he currently is not receiving any treatment while in jail. Port Wright further pointed out that Desjarlais has been awaiting results of a psychological evaluation for the past year, saying she cannot work on his defense without that information.

Judge Macaulay denied Desjarlais’ request for bail reduction and a return to the MSOP, but he did voice concern over the fact that information regarding his mental health evaluation has taken so long to acquire. He asked Pertler to impress upon those concerned that such information needs to be produced within a “critical length of time” in order to assist in bringing the case to resolution.

In an earlier bail hearing, the judge agreed to allow Eckman to return to the MSOP because he had stopped eating and drinking while at the jail, resulting in severe health implications.

In the criminal complaint filed in the case, the Moose Lake Police were called to the MSOP at 3:10 p.m. on Nov. 30 regarding a disturbance at the facility. Officers arrived there and learned that three individuals, later identified as Desjarlais, Doranti and Eckman, were out of control and were damaging furniture and windows in the unit.

Staff advised officers that Desjarlais had become disruptive and was refusing to return to his room when he began to break multiple furniture units and was using pieces of the furniture to break other property in the facility. He then let Doranti and Eckman out of their locked-down rooms and they joined him in repeatedly and extensively damaging multiple pieces of property causing extensive damage.

Despite the fact the staff attempted to calm the three men down, they continued to be disruptive and broke things for over an hour. Guards stated the entire facility was disrupted and on hold for an extended period of time due to the conduct of the three men.

Eventually all three were taken into custody and transported to the Law Enforcement Center in Carlton where they were booked for felony criminal damage to property as well as inciting a riot.

Tags: moose lake, news, crime