All of the conduct described herein occurred within the County of St. Louis, State of Minnesota, unless otherwise noted. On October 31, 2025 at approximately 3:19 P.M., Deputy Warneke of the St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office was dispatched to the report of threats. The initial call location was originally reported as Grand Lake Township but later was determined, after significant investigation, that the incident initially started in the City of Duluth while the reporting party, a female born in 2003, hereinafter referred to as Victim 1 and another person in the vehicle with her, a male born in 2003, hereinafter referred to as Victim 2, were in the area of West Arrowhead Road and Kenwood Avenue in Duluth, St. Louis County, Minnesota.
Victim 1 reported that her ex-boyfriend and father of her children, later identified as TRISTON MELVIN MICHAEL LAMPHIER, [DOB REDACTED], hereinafter referred to as the Defendant, had made threats to assault her and Victim 2. Victim 1 and Victim 2 were driving in Victim 2’s vehicle together. Victim 2 had come to Victim 1’s apartment building in Duluth to give Victim 1 a ride to work. All three involved parties knew each other. Victim 2 reported to Victim 1 that her ex-boyfriend and father of her children, the Defendant, was parked just down the street.
Victim 2 drove Victim 1 on a different route so that the Defendant did not follow them as he had allegedly done in the past. As Victim 2 and the Defendant are acquainted, the Defendant knew Victim 2’s number, but called his phone as an unknown caller ID. Victim 1 and Victim 2 knew it was the Defendant on the phone. Victim 1 explained the Defendant started by stating he would “beat my ass,” meaning Victim 1. The Defendant went on to threaten Victim 2 by saying he would “beat his face in.” The Defendant then told the two in Victim 2’s truck that he was going to “t-bone” them with his truck in an attempt to kill them both.
Both Victim 1 and Victim 2 have been previously assaulted and threatened by the Defendant. Both Victim 1 and Victim 2 said that the Defendant was alone in his truck when he made the threats. Deputies took the Defendant into custody on November 1, 2025. On November 2, 2025, Deputy Warneke went to take a statement from the Defendant. In a Mirandized statement, the Defendant suggested that he had been the passenger in his truck which was being driven by his grandmother. The Defendant and his grandmother had gone to the apartment of Victim 1 in order to deliver a birth certificate for a child the Defendant and Victim 1 have in common.
The Defendant denied making any threats toward Victim 1 or Victim 2. PLEASE TAKE NOTICE: Pursuant to Minn. Stat. 609.49, intentional failure to appear for duly scheduled court appearances may result in additional criminal charges, and in addition to any arrest warrant that may otherwise be issued by the Court.
