A Virginia man threatened to kill a driver Oct. 31 and later fought with officers at the jail after his arrest, according to the complaint.
Darius Nathaniel Fields, 25, is charged in Saint Louis County District Court with felony threats of violence and felony fourth-degree assault of a peace officer causing demonstrable bodily harm. He also faces gross misdemeanor counts of fourth-degree assault of a peace officer and obstructing legal process with force. The complaint was filed Nov. 2.
According to the complaint, Virginia police were called at about 3:17 p.m. to a report that a man on an e-bike had threatened people in a vehicle near Second Avenue and Third Street South. The caller said the man appeared to grab a gun from another man’s backpack but was not sure. The man told the people in the vehicle, “If you are here in two minutes, you are dead.” He rode away and came back on foot a short time later.
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Officers found and detained Fields, who matched the description. Asked whether he had a gun, he said he had a phone in his pocket and that whoever reported a gun must have mistaken his phone for one. No phone was found on him when he was searched after his arrest, the complaint says.
Two people who saw the encounter and called 911 told police Fields walked up to the vehicle and made the same threat. One of them said she was 90% sure she saw him quickly take a handgun from the other man’s backpack and put it in his own pocket. She said the other man at one point took a picture of Fields holding the handgun. Both saw Fields point “finger guns” at the driver but never saw anyone point an actual handgun at anyone.
The driver told a deputy he did not know Fields. He said Fields told him to get out of the vehicle, pointed a “finger gun” at him and said, “You don’t know who I am, be here in two minutes. I’ll be back in two minutes. I could kill you, Imma kill you.” Fields was then arrested.
On the way to jail, Fields slipped his cuffed hands from behind his back to the front and became very agitated, the complaint says. Among other things, he said, “I bet ya I will catch a new case.” When officers at the jail asked him to get out of the squad car so his hands could be cuffed behind him again, he said, “Come on, let’s do it!” and took an aggressive stance.
As officers took hold of him, Fields yelled at them, lunged at an officer with his head, pulled a hand free and began fighting, according to the complaint. He scratched a deputy’s head, leaving marks. Officers got him to the floor and cuffed him again. As they helped him up, he kicked an officer’s body-worn camera to the ground. While he was brought into the jail, he kept resisting and kicked an officer in the leg.
Related MN CRIME Coverage
Man Charged With Attempted Murder in Lakewood Township Stabbing • Man Charged With Firing at Victim Near Duluth Bar • Proctor Man Accused of Burglary and Knife Assault
Jurisdictional Context
Saint Louis County is Minnesota’s largest county by area, stretching from Duluth to the Canadian border. The Saint Louis County Attorney’s Office prosecutes felonies through the Sixth Judicial District; cases are heard at courthouses in Duluth, Hibbing and Virginia.
