Notice: Pursuant to Minnesota Rule of Criminal Procedure 7.02, the prosecution provides notice that, at trial, the State will offer evidence of the following offenses, in addition to the offense herein charged, for the purpose of proving the motive, intent, preparation, plan, and identity of the perpetrator. ••-CR-26-•• On 1/2/2026, Crow Wing County Deputies responded to a report that DEROOS had choked DM, pulled her hair, forced his penis into her mouth, pushed her outside while she was naked, and was holding her against her will.
Deputies arrived and arrested DEROOS. This case is still active; pending charges include Kidnapping, 1st Degree Criminal Sexual Conduct, False Imprisonment, and Domestic Assault by Strangulation. A DANCO, dated 1/5/26, was issued in the case that prohibited DEROOS from having any contact with DM. Current offense: On 6/15/26 at about 1052 hours, St. Paul Police responded to 9xx Burns in St. Paul, Ramsey County. The caller reported hearing 5 minutes of screaming. The screams included “Help Help Help, Please don’t hurt me.” While police were en route, the caller then saw a male and female near the corner.
The female was crying and the male was pushing her behind the house. Upon arrival, two witnesses in the street told police they heard a female screaming in the driveway of 9xx Burns and one saw a white male pushing a white female towards the east door of the house. Police saw movement in the house and found a cell phone and hair on the ground near the east door. Using the squad’s PA, and pounding on the house’s door and windows, police ordered the occupants to exit. Getting no response, police began prying the screen door open with an axe.
As they did, a male, later identified as Eric Michael DEROOS (8-15-78) opened the east side main door and stood in front of the locked glass screen door. Police told DEROOS he was under arrest, but DEROOS ignored their commands and refused to open the door. When police used the axe to break the screen door window, DEROOS shut the main door. Police breached the main door, entered the house and learned that DEROOS had fled the house through the front door. A perimeter was established and assisting officers spotted DEROOS fleeing on foot westbound through yards on Burns Ave.
With K9 assistance, police pursued him and, after the deployment of a taser, finally took him into custody near [ADDRESS REDACTED] and [ADDRESS REDACTED]. During a search of the house, police found a basement door with a dead bolt lock that had been locked with a key. When police pounded on the door, a female voice responded saying she was locked in the basement and was injured. Because she could not walk up the stairs, police breached the door. In the basement, police found “DM” who was crying and wearing only a towel.
DM had fresh red marks around her and bruises on her left side. DM said DEROOS had choked her and told her that he was going to kill her. She said DM grabbed her by the hair and dragged her into the residence, forced her into the basement, and then locked her in the basement. DM was transported to Regions Hospital for evaluation. There, police saw that DM had noticeable redness and scratches across her entire neck. She had two red lumps on her head. Sections of her hair were in large clumps from being pulled.
