Crime & Safety

Police: Apple Valley Man Chokes, Threatens to Kill Girlfriend Over Text Message

Several others were charged last week in alleged crimes related to Apple Valley.

Man Chokes, Threatens to Kill Girlfriend Over Text Message

Richard Edward Ezell, 25, of Apple Valley, is charged with domestic assault by strangulation, making terroristic threats and interference with an emergency call, all felonies, after police say he choked and threatened to kill the woman he lived with.

According to the criminal complaint, Apple Valley police on the morning of June 6 responded to a report of a physical dispute between a man and woman; a dispatcher reported hearing the man threaten to kill the woman.

Officers arrived and saw a woman run out of the house being chased by a man, later identified as Ezell, the complaint says; Ezell ran inside when he saw police.

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The woman was crying and shaking, and had blood on her mouth and red marks on her head, arms and ankle, the complaint says. She told police Ezell believed she was cheating on him, and had come into her bedroom, smashed a stool, jumped on the bed and grabbed her, headbutted her and choked her.

She ran away and tried to call 911 from the bathroom, the complaint says, but Ezell broke down the door and hung up the phone, saying he would kill her. She ran outside when she saw the police, she said.

Find out what's happening in Apple Valley-Rosemountwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Ezell agreed to give a statement, according to the complaint. He said he was upset over a text message the woman had received from another man; he allegedly admitted to shouldering open the bathroom door and putting the woman in a choke hold, and that he also threw her to the ground. He said he got scratches on his face in the process, the complaint says.

Ezell's 4-year-old daughter was home and allegedly saw part of the incident, the complaint says.

Man Charged With Assault for Pointing Gun at Former Housemate

Lance Michael Peterson, 22, of Farmington, is charged with felony second-degree assault after police say he allegedly pointed a gun at—and discharged the gun in front of—someone in the house where he used to live.

According to the criminal complaint, the alleged victim answered the door to the Apple Valley home and saw Peterson holding a gun. When he tried to shut the door, Peterson prevented it and allegedly pointed the gun at the other man, holding it near the man's chest with his finger on the tigger, the complaint says.

The man told Peterson he could come inside if he turned over the gun; at that point, Peterson allegedly shot the loaded gun in front of the man, the complaint says, then got some of his things and left.

The man told police he believed Peterson was under the influence of alcohol; Rosemount police then arrested him for DWI, the complaint says, and found that he had a gun.

2 Men Allegedly Use Screwdrivers to Break Into Business With Intent to Steal Money

Andres Christopher Underhill, 19, of Burnsville, is charged with felony third-degree burglary after allegedly found that he and Brian Louis Weber, 18, had attempted to break into an Apple Valley office building and steal money.

Police responded to the alarm going off at a business on 149th Street West in Apple Valley on June 8, and found two men running from the building when they arrived, according to the criminal complaint. Weber allegedly told police that he and Underhill had used screwdrivers to enter the building and had planned to take money, the complaint says.

Police used K9 unit dogs and allegedly found Underhill hiding under a trailer at a nearby farm.

Man Allegedly Assaults Girlfriend, Damages Car in Apple Valley

Javonte Lapone Reeves, 21, of Eagan, is charged with felony first-degree criminal damage to property and two misdemeanor counts of domestic assault after police say he allegedly assaulted his girlfriend and damaged a car.

According to the criminal complaint, police were called to the Apple Valley McDonald's on a report of a fight. A girl told police when they arrived that her boyfriend, Reeves, was "acting strange and violent" when she met him at McDonald's and that she thought he was under the influence of a drug.

She told police he had pushed her to the ground, grabbed her face and gave her a cut, the complaint says. She also said Reeves had hit her mother's car multiple times with his skateboard, breaking the windshield and leaving dents and scuffs; the damage to the vehicle was in excess of $1,000, according to the complaint.

Reeves had left the scene by the time police arrived, the complaint says.


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