Woman Charged with Chasing Eagan Man with Steak Knife

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A St. Paul woman has been charged with threatening to stab an Eagan man and chasing him out of his home with a steak knife.

Shelly Jean Brown, 43, is charged with making terroristic threats, a felony with a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

The steak knife incident happened on May 26, according to court documents. Brown is also facing separate misdemeanor charges of domestic assault and domestic abuse in Dakota County. She pleaded not guilty to those charges on June 5 and has a jury trial scheduled in that case for June 11.

According to the criminal complaint in the earlier case, the victim showed up at the Eagan Police Department on May 26, asking for help in retrieving personal items and clothing from his home on Woodland Court. 

Officers accompanied the victim to the home, noting that he appeared “very timid” as he approached, according to the complaint.

The man knocked on the door, and when Brown answered, she immediately began to yell at the victim and refused to allow him inside, the complaint says. Police noted that every time she moved toward the victim, he flinched and took a step backward, appearing to be afraid of Brown.

After “much opposition from Brown,” the victim was able to retrieve the items he wanted, accompanied by an officer, according to the complaint. As he tried to leave, Brown grabbed his bag and wouldn’t let go until an officer intervened.

The victim returned to his car, where a friend was waiting. Brown followed and yelled profanities at the victim, his friend and police officers, and tried to get into the car with the victim, according to the complaint.

Police tried to calm Brown and asked her what had happened earlier in the day. She told them that the victim had threatened to kill himself and had grabbed a steak knife and run out the front door.

Brown said she chased the victim for four or five houses before she was able to wrestle the knife away from him. She said the victim then sprinted away.

Brown turned over a steak knife to officers.

Another officer interviewed the victim’s friend, who said Brown had chased the victim while waving the steak knife. The victim told police that he had been a birthday party with Brown earlier, and Brown became upset.

When they arrived at the victim’s home, Brown continued to berate him, the man told police. She grabbed a steak knife and told him she was going to stab him, according to the complaint.

The victim said he fled the home. As he was running, he spotted his friend. He jumped into the friend’s car and told him to drive to the police department.

The victim told police that Brown has abused him in the past.

Brown is free on a $5,000 bond. An omnibus hearing in the Eagan case is Aug. 28 in Dakota County District Court in Hastings.