In court file 62-CR-22-895, RONALD CLIFTON BLACKBURN, [DOB REDACTED], was convicted of Assault Third Degree, felony conviction 5/23/22, same victim. On April 6, 2026, at approximately 9:28 P.M., Saint Paul Police were dispatched to the 700 block of Selby Avenue, Saint Paul, County of Ramsey, on a domestic assault. Officers arrived and met ADS. ADS said she has been in an on and off again relationship with BLACKBURN for seven years. ADS said she was apartment sitting for her aunt in the apartment.
Her nephew and a few other friends were in the apartment with her and they left the door unlocked. BLACKBURN went inside and sat down across from her. He was using drugs. She did not want BLACKBURN in the apartment because he has assaulted her in the past. After about twenty to thirty minutes, she told him to leave. BLACKBURN became angry and went to where she was seated on the couch. ADS demonstrated to officers that BLACKBURN stood over her, puts his hands on her collar, and used his knuckles to push down on her throat.
She started to kick him away. BLACKBURN yelled, “Did you just kick me?” He pushed down harder on her throat in the same way. She struggled, got out from under him, and used his nephew’s phone to call police in the hallway. Later, ADS explained that she went in the hallway to call 911 because in the past, BLACKBURN has tried to stop her from calling for help. When asked about the strangulation, ADS said BLACKBURN used both of his hands balled into fists, grabbed her collar, and pushed down into her throat.
She was dizzy during the assault and has a sore throat. In body camera, ADS explained and demonstrated that it was difficult for her to breathe because BLACKBURN’s knuckles were in her neck-“I couldn’t really breathe against this and the angle that he was at. He did it twice.” ADS had redness and scratch marks on her neck. ADS had black eyes, but said they were not during this incident. ADS expressed that she is scared that BLACKBURN might kill her. Officers located BLACKBURN at his mother’s home.
After a Miranda advisory, BLACKBURN spoke to an investigator. He said on April 6th, he met up with a friend, “B.” ADS, a male friend, and an unknown female (X1) were also there. BLACKBURN said ADS is his ex-girlfriend from about four years ago. They dated for about one year, and still have sex sometimes. ADS and X1 were seated together on the couch. ADS was looking at her phone and found something funny. She showed “B” the post on her phone, and then showed it to X1. To get X1’s attention, ADS hit her.
He called ADS out about the hard hit. ADS responded that she would beat her ass. ADS then called 911 and said he hit her. Everyone left the apartment to avoid having to deal with the police. BLACKBURN denied touching ADS on April 6th. During blueprint questions, ADS said she does think BLACKBURN will seriously injure or kill her. He has physically assaulted her often, has strangled her before, it gets worse when he uses drugs. He intimidates and assaults her all of the time. She was most frightened of BLACKBURN about four years ago when he broke her jaw.
