Minneapolis Man Charged With Strangling Richfield Woman

A Minneapolis man has been charged with strangling a Richfield woman and biting her in the chest before she was able to kick him in the groin and escape.

Cornell Derrick Waters, 41, is charged with domestic assault by strangulation, a felony with a maximum penalty of three years in prison and a $5,000 fine.

According to the criminal complaint, signed by Detective Joseph Ogren, police were called to an apartment in Richfield on Sept. 5 on a report of a domestic assault.

When they arrived, officers found the victim, who told them Waters, her ex-boyfriend, had punched, choked and threatened to kill her. Police also found Waters inside the woman’s apartment and arrested him.

According to the complaint, the victim told officers that Waters was drunk and had threatened to beat her, then jumped on top of her, bit her in the chest and punched her in the legs before putting both hands around her neck and squeezing until she had trouble breathing.

The woman said Waters released her after she kicked him in the groin, the complaint says. She then ran from the apartment and called the police.

Officers noted in the report that the victim’s voice was hoarse and she had bite marks on her chest and bruises on her shoulder.

Waters blood-alcohol content registered at .22 percent, according to the complaint.

Waters’ criminal record includes a 1998 conviction for fifth-degree assault and interference with a 911 call, a 2001 conviction for domestic assault and a 2002 conviction for violating a protection order.

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