A Hibbing man whose violent home invasion ended with him getting shot and later sparked a two-week manhunt has been sentenced to nearly four years in prison. Michael Todd Hart, 41, admitted to barging into a Hibbing apartment in June and attacking two people with what prosecutors say was a chainsaw wrench, capping off a months-long saga of new charges, an escape investigation and a mistaken release that briefly put him back on the street.
According to a release from the St. Louis County Attorney's Office, Hart pleaded guilty to felony first-degree burglary of an occupied dwelling, misdemeanor fifth-degree assault and a gross-misdemeanor violation of a domestic-abuse no-contact order. The office said he was remanded to the Commissioner of Corrections to begin serving his presumed sentence and noted that sentencing was scheduled for Thursday.
Court records indicate Hart forced his way into the Hibbing apartment and assaulted two residents with the chainsaw wrench, prompting another resident to open fire and hit him in the abdomen. Hart later turned up at an Itasca County hospital seeking treatment. After entering his pleas, he was ordered to serve just under four years in prison, according to FOX 9.
Manhunt and escape
The June assault was only part of Hart's recent history with law enforcement. On Sept. 23, 2025, he walked away from the Northeast Regional Corrections Center in Saginaw, setting off a region-wide search when staff did not realize he was missing until a routine head count more than two hours later. Roughly two weeks later, deputies acting on a tip went to a home in Cohasset and found Hart hiding under a basement stairwell. Authorities say he resisted arrest, assaulted deputies during the struggle and that a 29-year-old woman at the home was arrested on suspicion of helping him avoid capture, according to the Duluth News Tribune.
What’s next in court
Hart still faces a separate state charge linked to his escape from the regional corrections center and is scheduled for a plea hearing next Monday, where prosecutors say he will appear remotely from prison. The escape case remains pending in state district court in Duluth, and county officials have credited local law enforcement with bringing Hart back into custody, according to the St. Louis County Attorney's Office.
