Eric Joshua Jennings

On 4-15-2026 at about 0740 hours, St. Paul Police responded to the Dorothy Day shelter at [ADDRESS REDACTED] in St. Paul, Ramsey County for a report of an assault. Upon police arrival, Dorothy Day security had Eric Joshua JENNINGS (11-14-1987) in custody. JENNINGS was sweaty, grinding his teeth, and fidgeting. He said he had been up for 4 days straight due to using narcotics. Dorothy Day staff advised that JENNINGS had been kicked out of the shelter prior to the assault for "pleasuring himself" inside the facility.

Police found CW lying on the ground with a serious knee injury. Medics advised that CW’s knee was possibly dislocated. CW said he had never met JENNINGS before. He said that as he walked out of the shelter, JENNINGS – who was “crazy” - just started "swinging" at him. CW said he was struck in the face an unknown number of times and when he took a step back his knee "buckled.” A staff member and CCTV footage confirmed CW’s version of events. The footage showed JENNINGS walk up to CW at about 0745 hours, take a fighting stance, and then punch CW in the face.

When CW fell to the ground, JENNINGS stood over him and continued punching him as he laid on his back. JENNINGS then appeared to strangle CW as CW tried to get free. When CW tried to stand up, he immediately fell back to the ground.