A man armed with a pocketknife threatened a tree trimmer and demanded he leave while working near a Saint Cloud intersection, prosecutors say.
Cory Donavan Dodge, 36, faces charges of second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon and threats of violence, according to a complaint filed October 28 in Stearns County District Court.
According to the complaint, officers were dispatched to the intersection of 2nd Street South and 12th Avenue South in Saint Cloud after a report that a tree trimmer had been threatened by a man who appeared to be under the influence. The victim told officers he was approached by a white male holding a red pocketknife while he was trimming trees.
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The man threatened him, telling him to leave and saying it was two thousand dollars per tree and came within about two feet of the victim with the knife at his side.
The victim said he backed away and got into his truck as the man moved toward the driver’s side. The victim honked the horn and the man walked away toward the Saint Cloud Library. The victim described feeling very upset and afraid. A second worker who was with the victim told officers he saw the man in the parking lot, heard him yelling about the cost per tree and noticed he was holding something in his hand, though he could not tell what it was.
Both witnesses described the man as white, in his 30s, with scruffy facial hair, wearing blue jeans with one pant leg rolled up, a white sweatshirt and a black backpack.
Officers found a man matching the description nearby, identified as Cory Donavan Dodge. Dodge was wearing blue jeans with one pant leg rolled up, a blue sweatshirt and had a backpack. Officers arrested Dodge and found a pocketknife in his right front pocket, described as similar to a Swiss Army knife. In Dodge’s backpack, officers found a white Vikings T-shirt over a whitish-grey hoodie, matching the clothing described by the witnesses.
Surveillance footage from the area showed a person matching Dodge’s description approaching the victim’s truck, with both workers moving to the driver’s side as Dodge followed. The video showed all three in close proximity at about 2:29 p.m. Later footage from the library showed Dodge wearing the same clothing and changing into a Vikings hoodie, then covering it with a dark-colored shirt before leaving the library.
The complaint says Dodge has prior felony convictions, including threats of violence in 2018 and 2022, third-degree burglary in 2021 and felony fifth-degree assault in 2024. He also has several pending cases, according to the complaint.
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Jurisdictional Context
Stearns County encompasses Saint Cloud and is the largest county in central Minnesota. The Stearns County Attorney’s Office handles felony prosecutions through the Seventh Judicial District at the Stearns County Courthouse in Saint Cloud.
