Crime & Safety

Man Charged with Assaulting Eagan Woman While 2-Year-Old Watches

Police say Erin Anthony Neals became angry when he thought the Eagan woman was hiding his shoes so he couldn't leave the apartment.

 

A St. Paul man has been charged with assaulting a woman in Eagan last month, hitting her repeatedly while her 2-year-old son watched.

Erin Anthony Neals, 25, is charged with two felony counts of domestic assault, each of which carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $10,000 fine. He also faces two gross misdemeanor charges of domestic assault, each of which has a maximum penalty of a year in jail and a $3,000 fine. 

Neals was arrested Tuesday on a separate felony charge of contempt of court for disobeying a subpoena involving a violent crime. He is being held in the Dakota County Jail without bond and is scheduled to make a first appearance on the contempt of court charge Thursday in Dakota County District Court in Hastings.

According to the criminal complaint charging him with domestic assault, Eagan police were called to an apartment just after 8:30 a.m. June 18 and spoke to the victim. 

The woman told police that she and Neals had been arguing over some text messages that he received, and Neals became upset because he wanted to leave and couldn’t find his shoes.

Neals took the woman’s cell phone away from her because he thought she was hiding his shoes, the woman told officers. When she tried to retrieve her phone, he grabbed her arm and hit it repeatedly until they both fell to the floor, with the woman lying on her back, according to the complaint.

Neals got on top of the woman with his knees on her shoulders, holding her down, the complaint says. The woman’s 2-year-old son began to cry and hit Neals, trying to get him to let his mother go, she said.

The woman told Neals that she would help him find his shoes if he would get off her. When he stood up, she used a different phone to call 911.

Neals has a criminal history in Michigan that includes three convictions for domestic violence-related offenses in 2010.

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