Crime & Safety

Eagan Man Charged After Threatening to Kill Wife, Family

Hoang Minh Nguyen, 52, faces one felony count of terroristic theats following the April 18 incident.

Police say an Eagan man threatened to kill his estranged wife and children with a knife after dispute over whether the couple should get divorced.

Hoang Minh Nguyen, 52, faces one felony count of terroristic threats following the incident, which took place on April 18 in Eagan. If convicted, Nguyen could face a maximum of five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

Nguyen and his wife had been living together for the past five years but were separated, according to a criminal complaint issued by the Dakota County Attorney's office. Earlier that day, the pair got into an argument over splitting payment of a bill, police said. The argument escalated, and the victim brought up the subject of divorce, according to the complaint.

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At that point, the complaint said, Nguyen became enraged and—after arguing over who would receive custody of the children—he grabbed a small knife from the kitchen to threatened to kill his wife and children.

After allegedly issuing the threats, police say Nguyen grabbed a larger butcher knife from the kitchen. When she saw him pick up the larger knife, the victim allegedly fled from the house and came directly to the Eagan Police Department.

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Upon questioning by police, Nguyen allegedly admitted he had threatened the victim and children with a knife, but that he had no intent to harm anyone. Police recovered two knives identified by the victim as the knives used in the threats.


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