A Minneapolis woman is accused of pointing a handgun at another woman during a dispute over payment for a wig service outside a Mounds View business in November 2025, according to the complaint.
The offenses are alleged to have occurred on or about Nov. 13, 2025. The complaint lists two felony counts: second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon, which carries up to seven years or a $14,000 fine or both; and threats of violence, which carries up to five years or a $10,000 fine or both.
Abla Harmonie Vera Essiomley, who was 24 at the time of the alleged offenses, was issued a summons in a complaint filed Nov. 6 in Ramsey County District Court.
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According to the complaint, a sergeant parked at a Mounds View gas station at about 1:12 p.m. on Nov. 13, 2025, saw Essiomley run to his squad car from a nearby wig shop and say a woman had not paid for wig services. Essiomley said she spent several hours on the work and the fee was $140. She said the woman walked out without paying. She said she chased the woman outside and grabbed her purse. She said the woman dropped it getting away. Essiomley denied having a gun with her and said she owns one.
The woman told police she did not like the wig and told Essiomley she would not pay. She said Essiomley grabbed her purse and used it to drag her toward Essiomley’s vehicle, then took a pink gun from the glove box and pointed it at her head, stomach, chest and the left side of her face. The woman said she let go of her purse and got away, leaving her purse and phone behind. In a written statement she said Essiomley asked if she wanted to die over this.
The woman’s phone was damaged and later turned over to police by Essiomley. The complaint says the purse was found on a trash can in the store. The woman said the contents of her purse were missing.
The sergeant reviewed videos and summarized them in the complaint. One showed Essiomley running with a purse to a white Range Rover with the woman chasing her. Another showed a silver handgun in Essiomley’s right hand with the muzzle pointed at the woman’s head and upper torso as the two pulled on the purse. A third showed Essiomley pulling the purse with force while pointing the handgun at the woman’s torso. The complaint says Essiomley has a permit to carry a firearm issued in 2022.
In a follow-up interview on Dec. 18, 2025, Essiomley admitted there was a gun. She said the woman took hair from the shop and left. She said the woman had a knife and threatened to kill her. She said she ran to her car for the gun because she was scared for her life. The sergeant wrote that he did not see a knife in the woman’s hand on video. The woman told him she did not have a knife and did not take anything from the store.
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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; Ramsey County Community Corrections operates the Ramsey County Correctional Facility in Maplewood.
