Superior Carjacking Case Brings Charges For Oliver Man

The suspect in a carjacking that Superior Police responded to this summer has faced his preliminary hearing in Douglas County Circuit Court.  22-year old Carter Joshua Pionk faces felony charges related to the incident that occured on August 27.

Pionk made his appearance before the judge on October 5.  According to details released by the Douglas County Sheriff's Office and the Superior Telegram [paywall], he "faces felony counts of armed carjacking and physical abuse of an elder person-intentionally cause (sic) bodily harm with use of a dangerous weapon".

The case also involved the Duluth Police Department, who eventually apprehended the alleged suspect in Proctor.

According to the details of the case, Pionk allegedly approached a 72-year old Superior man who was sitting outside 'by his garage in a lawn chair smoking a cigarette".  At first the victim thought that the man was going to ask him if he could bum a cigarette, after he first passed him by and then retreated back from a different direction.

Instead of asking for a cigarette, the suspect allegedly "produced a hammer and struck the victim in the head, knocking him to the ground".  After rendering the victim to the ground, Pionk allegedly "picked up the victim's keys and sped away in the victim's truck, which had been in the driveway".

When Superior Police arrived on the scene, they found the 72-year old victim "bleeding profusely from the top of his head" and a "metal claw-style hammer was found with suspected blood on it" nearby.

A search for the truck - and the alleged victim - ensued.  That's when Duluth Police "located the stolen vehicle at the Minit Mart near Proctor and the driver was identified as Pionk".  The description of alleged suspects body type and clothing also matched the description from the incident.

Now that Pionk has made his initial appearance and a $10,000 cash bond was issued, he'll face the charges a month from now.  "The carjacking count, a class C felony, carries a maximum penalty of 40 years of imprisonment and a fine of up to $100,000.  [Meanwhile, t]he physical abuse of an elder person charge is punishable by up to 12 and a half years of imprisonment and a fine up...to $25,000".