Eagan Woman Sentenced to 90 Days for Slashing

An Eagan woman who stabbed her boyfriend eight times after she uncovered evidence of cheating was granted a reprieve from prison time. 

Judge Leslie May Metzen sentenced 23-year-old Angela Marie Stevens to the presumptive sentence, 21 months of prison time at the Shakopee Correctional Facility, but stayed the sentence for five years, the duration of her probation. Instead, Stevens will serve 90 days at the Dakota County Jail, with credit for three days served. She must also submit to psychiatric treatment, pay $1,936 in restitution and abstain from controlled substances.  

Stevens pleaded guilty to second-degree assault on May 16. The incident itself occurred on the evening of Aug. 22, 2012, when Eagan police were called to Fairview Ridges Hospital in Burnsville, where the victim was being treated for several cut wounds.

Medical staff told police that the victim had arrived with the defendent earlier in the evening, and initially told hospital staff that a fillet knife had somehow caught and cut him. When Stevens left the room, however, the man told the nurse that Stevens had stabbed him.

The man told police that he'd been dating Stevens for a year and eight months. That night, she discovered photos of him with another woman on an external hard drive and became enraged. The victim told police that Stevens hit him about 20 times in the head and upper body, then grabbed a fillet knife from the kitchen and threatened to kill him. The man said that the attack ended when Stevens saw a large cut on his wrist.

The victim told police it felt like he was "fending for my life" during the assault. Officers noted eight separate cuts on the victim's body, including wounds on his left forearm, and biceps. The man also suffered a three-inch wound on his right hand, stretching from his pinky to the base of his thumb.

For her part, Stevens initially denied the accusations, stating that she found the victim with wounds on his arm after she came home from work. She said he'd cut himself while cleaning fish. Eventually, she confessed.

Stevens has no prior criminal record. In a letter to the judge, her mother described her as a sweet girl, a former honor roll student who has "always followed the rules."   

Her mother begged the judge to spare her from prison time, which would cost Stevens her job as a receptionist in a medical clinic. 

"She helps me out financially as I have only two part-time jobs and will be losing our home," Her mother Roxanne wrote, adding that Stevens had recently witnessed her father's death. "I'm asking you to please, if you can find it in your heart, to not send her to jail but to possibly send her to anger management classes, probation, counseling for handling stressful situations, or anything else that would be so much more beneficial to Angela."

Metzen agreed to a downward sentence, citing Stevens' remorse, acceptance of responsibility and willingness to complete probation and treatment.