A “sadistic” Nebraska welder was sentenced to up to 90 years in prison after torturing a man with a blowtorch, hanging him from a forklift and raping a woman for drugs stolen from a cartel.
Tanner Danielson, 31, was sentenced Wednesday to 40 to 50 years for kidnapping and 30 to 40 years for sexual assault after the heinous attacks in July 2022.
Danielson kidnapped the 26-year-old man after suspecting him of stealing 50 pounds of marijuana, worth up to $200,000, which went missing from his home, according to the Lincoln Journal Star.
He said he believed the cartel was going to hurt him and his family after they stole his marijuana, so “I had to do it.”
The welder kidnapped and tortured the man for more than 12 hours.
During the kidnapping, Danielson burned the word “thief” on the unidentified man’s body, beat and drugged him, hung him from a forklift and shoved a gun in his mouth, before leaving him in the field tied to a tree.
The man only escaped after he miraculously managed to free himself from the tree and ran to the road for help while still handcuffed, the Lincoln Journal Star reported.
Tanner Danielson, 31, was sentenced to 40 to 50 years for kidnapping and 30 to 40 years for sexual assault after kidnapping a man and woman in July 2022. Lincoln Police Department
Danielson also raped a woman who had gone to the warehouse with him, the outlet reported. He then threatened to kill her if she reported the crime to the police.
The victims were hoping to meet with Danielson’s accomplice, Austin Widhalm, 28, to buy cocaine, according to Fox News.
Widhalm has pleaded no contest to charges of assault and false imprisonment.
“Only a sadistic, evil person could do these things to another human being,” Judge Susan Strong told Danielson in court.
Strong called the case “one of the most egregious factual scenarios” he had ever seen.
The victims were hoping to meet with Danielson’s accomplice, Austin Widhalm, 28, to buy cocaine, according to Fox News. Widhalm has pleaded no contest to charges of assault and false imprisonment. Widhalm will face sentencing next week. Lincoln Police Department
Meanwhile, Danielson pleaded with the court to “see me for who I am” and not judge him for the sickening crime.
“I was incredibly afraid. I had no idea what to do,” he told the judge. “I beg you to see me for who I am, not for the things I really felt I had to do to save myself.”
Lancaster County Deputy Prosecutor Jeff Mathers did not believe Danielson’s pleas, saying: “You had to beat, torture, restrain and leave, possibly for dead, an individual? Did he have to rape a woman? Ridiculous. Come on.”
Mathers claimed that the perpetrator had a history of violence against women and was involved in drug trafficking.
“The facts in this case are as heinous and depraved as anything I have ever seen. Narcissism, antisocial personality disorder, sociopath, psychopath. “I’m sure some or all of them fit,” the attorney said.
Danielson became involved in drug trafficking after meeting people at a concert in Colorado, according to defense attorney Chad Wythers. The welder thought that once it would be an easy way to make money, but then he couldn’t get out.
Wythers said Danielson was high on cocaine at the time of the attack.
Widhalm will face sentencing next week.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn