Man Charged With Assault After Gashing Victim With Knife

A Bloomington man has been charged with pulling a knife on a man outside a convenience store in Richfield and seriously injuring him, apparently after the two argued over a debt.

Darnell Tyus, 50, is charged with third-degree assault resulting in substantial bodily harm, a felony with a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

Richfield police were called to the Super America store in the 7700 block of Nicollet Avenue South just before 1 a.m. Dec. 2 after someone reported that a man had been injured in a fight, according to the criminal complaint, signed by Richfield Police Detective Patrick Moriarty.

Police spoke to the victim, who was bleeding from a cut on his upper right shoulder and a deep gash on his left upper forearm. He said he and Tyus, a longtime friend of his, had been arguing about money. He said he was sitting in the passenger seat of a car with his wife at Super America when Tyus and his wife arrived.

Tyus approached the victim, saying, “You’re not going to do me like that, you punk [expletive],” grabbed the victim through the car window and poked him with something sharp as he tried to drag him out of the car, according to the complaint.

Tyus’ wife intervened, telling the victim not to fight with Tyus because he was “enraged” and had a knife, the complaint says. The victim ran away and called police, and Tyus and his wife fled the scene.

The victim, who was bleeding profusely, was taken to the hospital, where he had to have stitches to close his wounds. Police tracked down Tyus and arrested him.

Tyus told police that he approached the victim while he was sitting in his car, but that it was the victim who pulled a knife on him. He said he was able to knock the knife out of the victim’s hand. When police asked him why the victim had suffered so many injuries, Tyus said he might have cut himself when Tyus knocked the knife away, according to the complaint.

Tyus’ wife told police that it was her husband who had the knife, and that the victim didn’t have one, the complaint says. She said that Tyus and the victim had a heated exchange via phone calls earlier in the evening over money that the victim owed Tyus.

Tyus has an extensive criminal record with convictions for offenses ranging from public urination to forgery to theft.

Tyus remains in the Hennepin County Jail on a $40,000 bond. An omnibus hearing in his case is scheduled Jan. 3 in Hennepin County District Court.

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