Duluth Man Gets Federal Prison for Violent Attack on 78-Year-Old

Carjackings were one of the crimes that climbed sharply across the country in the years after 2020. The good news is that the trend has reversed. Carjackings dropped by 43 percent in large U.S. cities from 2024 to 2025.

However, a better trend line doesn't mean much to the people who have lived through one of these attacks.

Duluth saw an attempted carjacking at a stoplight just last month, and one of the city's most violent cases in recent memory has now reached its final chapter after more than five years.

Warren Holt Jr. of Duluth was sentenced to 110 months in federal prison for one count of carjacking. That's just over nine years. The sentence was handed down by U.S. District Judge John R. Tunheim on September 28, 2026.

A 78-Year-Old Was Attacked Outside His Own Home

According to court documents, Holt went to a home in Duluth's Lakeside neighborhood on June 16, 2021. He told the 78-year-old homeowner he was "looking for a truck." The victim told him it wasn't for sale, and Holt left.

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He didn't stay gone. Holt came back and hit, strangled, and stabbed the man, leaving him unconscious and bleeding heavily with broken ribs and puncture wounds to his chest. At the time, police said a neighbor mowing the lawn found the injured man and called 911. The victim was admitted to intensive care with life-threatening injuries.

Holt then drove off in the victim's truck. He was stopped and arrested in Carlton County, where officers found him with a fresh cut on his right wrist and blood on his shoes. The truck was located near I-35 and the Scanlon exit.

The Case Moved From State Court to Federal Court

The case spent years moving through state court before federal prosecutors stepped in. Holt was taken into federal custody in 2024, just days before his state trial was set to begin.

He pleaded guilty to the federal carjacking charge on November 7, 2025. As of that plea, Holt also still faced separate charges in state court tied to an alleged 2022 incident.

What Officials Are Saying About the Sentence

"This defendant committed a vicious act that left a 78-year-old victim with critical injuries. While no sentence can fully heal the harm that he caused, it does provide justice to the victim and his loved ones," said United States Attorney Daniel N. Rosen.

"The carjacking committed by this defendant was carried out with callous disregard for the life of the victim or the safety of our community," said FBI Minneapolis Field Office Acting Special Agent in Charge Benni Jonsson.

Johnson went on to say that the department hopes the sentence brings 'a sense of justice served and is a step toward healing for the victim and his family.'

Duluth Police Chief Mike Ceynowa said that he appreciated the teamwork that went into the arrest and, ultimately, the sentence, adding that "violence of any kind is not tolerated in Duluth, and we will continue to hold those accountable who are victimizing members of our community.”

The case was investigated by the FBI and the Duluth Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Garrett S. Fields prosecuted it. It's the latest in a string of federal sentencings tied to Minnesota cases this past year.