Man Charged After Threatening Parents With Knife, Stealing Car
BY MN CRIME STAFF
A man is facing a long list of charges after police say he threatened his parents with a knife, assaulted them and stole their vehicle during a violent confrontation late last week in Saint Paul.
Officers were called to a high-rise building on the 100 block of Ruth St. N. around 10:47 p.m. on Nov. 30 after a woman reported that her adult son had threatened to kill her if her husband didn’t hand over car keys.
The woman told dispatchers the man took the keys and drove off in their 2006 Acura TL before police arrived.
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When officers spoke with the woman, she said she had been asleep on the couch when her son, identified as 52-year-old David Thomas Bernier, began yelling and attacking her husband. She said Bernier pulled her hair, held a knife to her throat and told her he would “carve [her] up” unless they gave him $1000 and the car keys. She also said he threatened to throw her off the apartment’s 11th floor balcony and barricaded the doorway with items until her husband handed over the key. She told officers Bernier had been using illegal drugs for a long time.
Her husband told police the assault began hours earlier, around 2:30 p.m. He said Bernier became upset in the kitchen and started throwing things, including a glass that shattered. He reported being punched four to five times in the chest and shoved into a couch before Bernier grabbed a 6 to 8 inch filet knife and threatened him with it while demanding the car keys. He also reported being punched in the face. Officers noted fresh marks on his nose, chest and forearm. He said Bernier then grabbed his wife by the hair while holding the knife and said he was going to start “carving her up” if he didn’t hand over the key. He complied and Bernier left with the knife and the Acura. He added that Bernier assaulted him earlier this year in May, an incident that left him hospitalized for 11 days with a fractured rib.
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Bernier’s brother, who was not present, told officers Bernier had been using meth for about six months and has long struggled with personality disorders. He also said Bernier once shot at him and was released from prison in 2023.
The stolen Acura is valued at about $6,697 according to Carfax data. Bernier was arrested on a pickup and hold warrant on Dec. 2.
Charging documents note that Bernier has several open felony and domestic-related cases in Dakota and Washington counties, including burglary, auto theft, and multiple violations of no-contact and protection orders. His prior felony convictions include a fifth degree drug offense.
Bernier now faces six new charges in Ramsey County tied to the Nov. 30 incident. The most serious count is first degree carjacking while armed with a dangerous weapon, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison or a $35,000 fine. He is also charged with felony motor vehicle theft, felony second degree assault with a dangerous weapon, felony threats of violence and two misdemeanor domestic assault counts for allegedly assaulting both parents.
Authorities have not yet released additional updates about the parents’ medical conditions.
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