A Saint Paul woman stabbed a man in the chest with a pair of scissors during a late-night argument at her apartment, prosecutors say.
Helena Lashirl Moses, 41, faces a charge of second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon. The charge was filed September 8 in Ramsey County District Court.
According to the complaint, police responded to a Saint Paul address at about 11:15 p.m. on September 5 after a man called 911 and reported that he had been stabbed. Officers arriving at the scene heard arguing coming from the rear of the residence. An officer found the victim, shirtless and bleeding from a wound on the right side of his chest, standing behind a vehicle.
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When asked who stabbed him, the victim pointed to a woman at the top of the rear staircase and said she did. Officers identified the woman as Helena Lashirl Moses and detained her.
The victim told police he had been sitting in the living room when he said something he believed Moses took offense to. He recalled Moses coming into the living room with a pair of scissors and stabbing him once. Medics treated the victim at the scene, but he declined to be transported to the hospital.
Following a Miranda advisory, Moses gave officers inconsistent accounts of what happened that night. She initially claimed she turned the victim away because he was intoxicated, then said he was briefly inside her residence before leaving. When asked why the victim said she stabbed him, Moses did not answer and eventually said she did not know how he got the stab wound.
Moses later told police the victim had messaged her asking if she wanted him to come over, and she replied “Always,” but said she did not mean that night. She described the victim arriving at her apartment twice, once with a shirt and once without and said she eventually let him inside but told him to leave because he was intoxicated.
When asked why she opened the door if he was intoxicated, Moses said she was afraid of him. She gave conflicting statements about how long the victim was inside her apartment.
Moses also told police that the victim came to her apartment the first time without a shirt and told her he could not breathe and was dying. She said she went outside to check on him and saw him on the phone with dispatch, telling them that Moses stabbed him. Moses told officers the situation was a miscommunication and misunderstanding, and said if they needed to take her to jail, they should do so.
In a follow-up interview, the victim told investigators he had been drinking alcohol and came home, where there was a brief exchange of words before Moses “poked him.” He said he started bleeding and, unsure of the seriousness of his injury, called 911. The victim told investigators he did not wish to pursue charges against Moses. She is scheduled to appear in court Wednesday, September 30.
Moses is scheduled to appear in Ramsey County court on September 30, 2026.
About This Charge
Minnesota classifies assault by degree under § 609.221 (first), § 609.222 (second), § 609.223 (third), § 609.2231 (fourth) and § 609.224 (fifth). First-degree assault, alleging great bodily harm, carries up to 20 years in prison. The lower degrees range from misdemeanor up to 10-year felony exposure depending on weapon use and harm.
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Jurisdictional Context
Ramsey County encompasses Saint Paul and is served by the Ramsey County Attorney’s Office. Felony cases are heard in the Second Judicial District at the Ramsey County Courthouse in downtown Saint Paul; the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office operates the Ramsey County Correctional Facility in Maplewood.
