North Dakota man sentenced to 80½ years for shooting two officers in Delafield in November 2020

The North Dakota man convicted of shooting two police officers in November 2020 has been sentenced to 80½ years in prison.

Nathanael Benton, 25, returned to court Tuesday, shackled for the sentencing hearing related to his June conviction for attempted first-degree homicide and the reduced charge of recklessly endangering safety. Initially, Benton faced two attempted first-degree murder charges, but the jury ended up agreeing on the lesser charge of recklessly endangering safety. He was also convicted of a felony charge of firearm possession.

At least 15 police officers from various Waukesha County law enforcement agencies were in attendance, including the victims.

District Attorney Susan Opper talked at length about the incident, Benton's criminal history in other states and the long-term effects to the victims who are no longer working in law enforcement as a result of their injuries. She also focused heavily on Benton's danger to the community.

"He needs the strongest punishment possible," Opper said.

But Benton's attorney, Jeffrey William Jensen, argued that because Benton was already facing 52 years for another case in Waukesha County, it made no sense to give Benton the maximum penalty because, no matter what, he would spend the rest of his life in prison. He asked that Benton's sentence be served concurrently to a 52-year sentence he received earlier this summer in a separate case.

In his sentencing, Waukesha County Judge Paul Bugenhagen Jr. said Benton "demonstrated time and again that (he) had no regard for the lives around (him)."

Bugenhagen ultimately sentenced Benton to the maximum for each charge, totaling 80½ years to be served consecutively to his existing sentences.

Benton was also ordered to pay restitution of $548,697.26, which will go to United Heartland, a workers’ compensation carrier. Payments will come out of any wages he makes while in prison and money included in his account.

Additionally, an open case alleging Benton bit a bailiff before his June trial was dismissed.

Officers shot in Delafield

The charges and sentencing stem from a Nov. 6, 2020, incident in which Benton shot two officers at the Holiday Inn on Golf Road in Delafield.

At the time, Benton was on the run, fleeing from police after reportedly shooting someone in the head in Fargo, North Dakota, using a gun he obtained during a burglary in Minnesota, according to testimony during the June trial.

After that, he fled the state, disposed of the weapon and stayed with a friend in Warsaw, Indiana. During his time in Indiana, he and the friend purchased three other handguns and a car, Benton said. Benton told the jury he eventually decided to return to North Dakota to get a lawyer.

While driving back with his friend and another person, they stopped at the Delafield Holiday Inn to rest at about 2 a.m. Benton said he had used cocaine, consumed alcohol and smoked marijuana at around that time.

While walking to the hotel from the parking lot, they were stopped by police responding to the area for what turned out to be an unrelated hit-and-run call. During that contact, officers discovered marijuana in a backpack.

During their testimony, the officers said they were going to let them go with a ticket.

But when Delafield Officer Michael Henning began searching the trio and approached Benton, Benton pulled out a 40-caliber handgun that he had concealed in his waistband and fired 10 rounds, emptying his magazine.

Henning and Hartland Officer Matthew Seeger suffered multiple wounds. Henning was shot in the buttocks and the pinky. Seeger was shot three times, twice on the back of his ballistic vest and once in the hip. Seeger's injuries resulted in him being forced to leave the force. Both officers are no longer in law enforcement as a result of their injuries.

Benton told the jury he then ran, jumped over Seeger who was on the ground and hopped a fence to cross I-94. He hid in the woods until he was captured by police several hours later. Benton had disposed of the gun, and another handgun he had concealed on his ankle, when police found him.

Other cases

This is the second sentence for Benton for a case in Waukesha County. While in jail, Benton was charged with nearly killing a fellow inmate and also throwing bodily fluids at a corrections officer multiple times.

In connection with those charges, Benton was convicted in July of three felonies: first-degree attempted homicide, a prisoner expelling or throwing a bodily substance and battery by an inmate. He was sentenced to 52½ years in prison.

Benton is also facing charges in North Dakota for another attempted murder charge for reportedly shooting someone in the head while at a Halloween party in October 2020, a week before shooting the officers.

Drew Dawson can be reached at ddawson@jrn.com or 262-289-1324.

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: North Dakota man sentenced to 80½ years for shooting two officers