A Saint Paul man is charged with stabbing his roommate in the abdomen during a drunken argument, then attempting to clean up the blood before officers arrived.
Tyron Montez Minor, 50, is charged in Ramsey County District Court with second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon causing substantial bodily harm and felony domestic assault.
According to the criminal complaint, police responded to the 400 block of Thomas Avenue shortly before midnight on March 21 on a report of a stabbing. Officers found the victim sitting on the staircase leading to the upper units with a trail of blood leading from the lower apartment. He had a stab wound to his abdomen and a laceration on his right forearm consistent with a defensive wound.
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The victim told officers he had been living with Minor for the past few months. He said when Minor drinks, he becomes assaultive. The victim reported that Minor grabbed a knife and threatened to kill him, then suddenly attacked, stabbing him in the abdomen. The victim was cut on his forearm as he tried to defend himself. The assault occurred in the living room.
Officers went to the apartment and Minor answered the door with a lump on his head, small cuts on his fingers and blood on his clothing. In a post-Miranda interview, Minor claimed the victim had arrived already stabbed and that he had tried to help him.
Officers executed a search warrant and found the blade of a knife broken off from its handle outside the apartment door and the handle inside.
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A large amount of blood was found in the living room, particularly on the couch. Officers observed cleaning agents pooled in the cracks of the couch and evidence that blood had been wiped from the floor near the couch, while significant blood remained pooled underneath it. An open bottle of vodka was tipped over in the middle of the living room.
Court records show Minor has three prior domestic violence-related convictions: domestic assault in Washington County in 2016, second-degree assault in Ramsey County in 2020 and third-degree assault in Ramsey County in 2022.
Second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon causing substantial bodily harm carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.
