St. Cloud Man Charged in Violent Assault and Vehicle Theft

(KNSI) — A St. Cloud man is facing two felony charges after an early-morning attack near the Stearns History Museum left a man with serious injuries, and a separate vehicle theft on the same morning.

According to court documents, St. Cloud Police were called to the Stearns History Museum on 33rd Avenue South around 7:15 Tuesday, where they found a man bleeding from his face with his left eye swollen shut. The victim had no memory of how he was injured.

The victim’s supervisor told police he received a confused phone call from the driver just before 7:00, in which he said his employee thought he had been jumped. Surveillance video from the victim’s work truck showed 27-year-old Nykolas D’Heilly approaching the porta-potty the victim had entered, forcing the door open, and immediately punching the victim in the head multiple times. The victim fell to the ground, and D’Heilly continued to punch and kick him until he lost consciousness before walking away. The man suffered a broken nose, a shattered orbital socket requiring reconstructive surgery, and a brain bleed. He remained hospitalized as of Thursday. The investigation into the extent of his injuries is still ongoing.

In a separate case, also on Tuesday morning, police were called just after 7:45 to the 3000 block of West St. Germain Street for a reported vehicle theft. A woman told officers her running Honda Civic had been taken from her driveway around 6:30. A neighbor later found the abandoned car on County Road 75 near Roosevelt Road. Officers found blood inside the vehicle and on the steering wheel and collected DNA samples.

D’Heilly admitted both the assault and the theft to officers, saying he found a white car and drove it away, later abandoning it because he didn’t want to be involved in a police pursuit. Officers noted blood on his clothing and scrapes on his hands at the time of contact.

D’Heilly is facing first-degree assault and vehicle theft charges.

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